Stalker
by Sweda
Summary: It began with a break in. Then it escalated to harsh words and physical violence. After that the calls to her friends started. Now, things will only get worse.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I'm back! Okay, so this is the promised sequel to my other story titled Hide & Seek. This one will make a lot more sense if you read that one first. I should let you know that this story will contain scenes of violence and sexual assault._

 _Then it's just the disclaimer left. The Criminal Minds characters do belong to the CBS, as always, I'm only borrowing them for fun._

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

" _Be leery of silence. It doesn't mean you won the argument. Often, people are just busy reloading their guns."_

 _\- Shannon L. Alder_

Morgan had just driven off after she had thanked him for the ride when her phone started on her familiar ringtone. She let go of the key she had inserted into the lock on the door and let the rest of metal keys hang there while she reached for her phone to answer the call.

The call became a pleasant surprise compared to the other calls she had received from an unknown number during the last couple of days.

" _Hi, it's Josh. I'm not waking you or anything, am I?"_

"No, I'm just about to go inside actually," she answered.

" _Good. I was just calling to make sure the flight went okay."_

The fact that he was calling to make sure she had gotten home safely made her think even better of him. The kindness of his words made her face light up in a smile.

"Yeah, everything went fine. I pretty much slept the entire time," she confessed and turned the key.

Josh laughed softly. _"That doesn't surprise me. But sleeping on planes can be rather uncomfortable so I'm guessing it didn't make much of a difference."_

"No, I'm pretty much as tired as I was when I fell asleep," Emily replied.

" _Then I won't keep you up or away from your reunion with, Sergio was it, right?"_

"I can't believe you remembered that."

" _With an unusual name like that it's hard to forget,"_ he teased.

"Haha, so very funny of you," Emily said in a playful tone while suppressing her amusement.

" _Thank you. I can be quite amusing sometimes."_

Emily chuckled at his retort. She was removing the key from the lock and put the bundle of keys in the pocket of her jacket.

It was late and she was so very tired and even though she wanted to continue the conversation she knew this wasn't the time, she could call some other day when she wasn't as tired.

"I'm sorry but I need to hang up now. Trying to stop my cat from escaping the safety of his home with only one hand isn't something I'm up for tonight," she said.

" _I understand,"_ Josh said in a way that made it sound like he really did. _"Besides, it's late and you better get some sleep soon."_

"Yeah, you too," Emily replied. "Tell Danny I said hi."

" _I will and as soon as we arrive I expect a proper introduction between me and Sergio."_

"I can't promise it will be a nice one," Emily smiled. "If you need any help settling in, I'll be happy to help."

" _Thank you."_

"Good night then."

" _Good night,"_ Josh said. _"Oh, and Agent Prentiss?"_

"You can call me Emily."

" _Okay then. If that's so then you can call me Josh."_

"Josh it is," Emily said and nodded to herself. "You were saying?"

" _Right. Take care and try to stay out of trouble."_

"You too," Emily said. "Both of you," she added.

" _We will. Bye."_

"Bye." She sighed as she ended the call with a simple press on the glass screen.

If it had been any other day and any other time of day, she would have kept the conversation going as she was enjoying talking to Josh, but today her body wasn't up for it. She needed to sleep, a lot, and she needed to sleep now.

She felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier as she pushed the door open, careful not to miss out on a black ball of fur that was trying to sneak past her feet. Thankfully, her four legged companion didn't try anything tonight.

She opened her door and stepped inside, ready to move straight to bed after greeting Sergio with a few strokes.

The relaxed feeling she had gotten from her conversation with Josh disappeared as soon as she crossed the threshold. It was then replaced by unease. Something felt wrong, and moments later got her suspicions confirmed as something hard connected with the back of her head.

* * *

He had missed the sign telling him that roadwork was being carried out on the road he usually took home and he ended up at a roadblock. He would have to back up before he could make the very illegal U-turn to get back on the street to change his course.

As he looked over his shoulder to make sure he wouldn't back into anything or anyone, something in the back seat caught his attention but he decided to check it out later. He changed the gear from reverse to drive, made the U-turn and drove until he reached a spot where he could pull over without blocking the traffic.

He left the engine on as he turned to get a better look at what had captured his interest earlier.

There in the back seat of his car lay Emily's go-bag.

He sighed and looked at his watch. Not much time had passed since he had left Emily's. If he drove back now he would probably have time to return it before she made it to bed. It felt less exhausting to drive back now than driving back home and then having to drive all the way to her house tomorrow to return it.

He rubbed his tired eyes before he pulled back out into traffic and changed his course again, back to Emily's address.

* * *

The first blow hit her in the back of her head. It made her see stars and sent her flying to the floor without any mercy. Her knees and wrists took the worst impact but they didn't keep her from landing flat on the floor.

The blow had left her disoriented and her focus was on regaining control over her own body, which was why she didn't pay attention to the identity of her assailant.

The first kick was delivered to her already bruised ribs, making her curl into a ball to protect them. She was unsure if the cracking sound she heard was real or imagined, but the pain that followed told her it was very much real. It was so intense that she thought she might pass out from it. The breaths she tried to take sent jolts of pain through her body and it was with great determination that she managed to stay conscious.

The second kick landed on her already bad shoulder, which made her roll over so that she was on her back and that was when she saw him. With her back pressed against the floor she stared up at the burning green eyes she wished she didn't know.

"Thought you could just run away for a while and then I'd be gone?" Dylan snarled, gazing down at her with a furious expression. "I won't let you go that easily."

"Dylan, what...are...you...doing?" Emily managed to wheeze out, arms wrapped protectively around her injured ribs.

"I'm teaching you a lesson!" he growled and bent down to pull her up by her hair.

Emily screamed in pain as she was violently hoisted up from the floor. She could barely stand on her own legs. The world spun and her injured ribs kept her from standing up straight. The only reason she managed to stay on her feet was because of Dylan's bone crushing grip on her upper arms.

"You," he spat and slapped the right side of her force behind it had her head lolling to the side. "Need to understand that you can't sleep around with other men without setting me off!" He finished his sentence by shoving her down on the floor in the direction of the kitchen.

As she landed, Emily saw Sergio crawling under the couch to hide from the evil man that had invaded his home and was currently manhandling his owner. This time it was the elbows and her tailbone that would soon be covered in bruises.

Emily pushed herself up on her sore elbows and slowly pushed up against the floor to get back on her feet. She had hardly made it halfway when Dylan's rough hands shoved her down again.

"Stay down!"

 _Hell no!_ Emily thought and made a second attempt to get up.

This time he used his boot-covered foot to push her down, but he didn't take it away as soon as she was back down. Instead he kept it pressed against her chest and was constantly applying pressure.

"Asshole!" Emily hissed.

Dylan got down on one knee and put the knee he wasn't supporting himself on where his foot had been. "Is that really how you say hello to your boyfriend after having been gone for almost a week?" he asked as he took a hold around her wrists and pulled her hands up above her head, pressing them hard against the floor.

Emily tried to fight back as he did but he had the advantage. She glared up at him with hatred. As she did, his eyes bore into hers.

She tried to push him off her but didn't succeed, she could barely make her arms move. He was winning and she hated it. She was tired and injured but still she summoned up the energy to fight back.

In one quick, and very painful motion, she brought up a knee towards him and almost knocked him off her. The action momentarily drained her of strength and she had to wait a few seconds until she could carry out the next attack.

Her attempt to knock him off of her infuriated him even more, which Emily felt as his grip around her wrists tightened and he applied more pressure to her chest with his knee.

"You're really pushing it, Em," he growled. "I've missed you a lot, you know," he said and brought his face closer to hers, staring down.

Emily had the urge to spit at him but she stopped herself from doing so as it would only result in him getting even more angrier, anger that he would take out on her.

From out of nowhere his face changed from furious to something else and then he said, "You're beautiful when you're angry."

At that moment her blood froze. She recognised the look in his eyes. She knew what he wanted and that was when she decided to use whatever strength she had left. She squirmed under his body, threw herself from side to side, aggravating her bruises in the process but she didn't care. She tried to scream as loudly as she could, hoping that one of her neighbours would hear her and come to her rescue.

Dylan didn't buckle though. He was using all his strength to hold her down and was smart enough to use his knee to push down on her ribs, which quickly made her focus on breathing and staying conscious instead of screaming and fighting him off.

Just to make sure she couldn't put up much of a fight, Dylan eased up the pressure on her chest, released her wrists and grabbed on to the collar of her shirt. He then lifted her up from the floor and slammed her back down again. The action resulted in Emily's head connecting with the floor only to bounce back up again before landing on the floor a second time.

Her world turned black. For a few terrifying seconds she couldn't see anything, neither could she hear or feel nothing but her pounding head. She was momentarily paralysed by the blow and Dylan used that to his advantage. He changed his position so that he was straddling her. He also let go of her shirt and then used one of his hands to hold hers together and pushing them against the floor over her head. That left him with one free to do pretty much whatever he wanted.

He let his free hand slowly travel down from her hair to her waist, stroking her body and cupping her breast along the way.

Emily gulped as she felt his hands on her body. She then involuntarily shivered as he started placing light kisses on her neck.

"Dylan... stop," she struggled to form the words as the pounding in her head continued.

"Oh, come on, Emily. It's not like we haven't done this before," he mumbled against her neck as his free hand sneaked under her shirt and touched the bare skin of her stomach.

"I don't... want to," Emily whimpered as she felt her shirt getting pushed up further and further. She wanted to fight, to scream, to do something but she was still in a daze and couldn't do any of it.

"This is the least you can do for me after what you've put me through this week."

Dylan then moved his hand from her stomach to her breasts. Emily squirmed to get away but it was impossible. His weigh was keeping her down and her already battered body wasn't as strong and cooperating as it usually was.

She had just come to the realisation that her best chance at getting out of this was to alert someone that something was wrong. She had just gathered up the strength to do so when Dylan pressed his lips against hers. Emily's cry for help became a muffled sound of disgust.

His hand then went back to her stomach and before she knew it, he was working on the single button of her pants.

She had been afraid before but it was now the real, raw panic kicked in. This was _not_ happening, it couldn't be happening!

He had finished with the button and was roughly tugging her pants down her hips when he froze. Dylan then replaced his mouth with his free hand to keep her quiet.

That was when she realised what had stopped him dead in his tracks; there was someone at the door!

Another knock sounded and then a familiar voice, _"Hey, Prentiss! You in there?"_

It was Morgan, there was no question about it.

 _Help was finally arriving!_ Emily thought and some of her panic slipped away.

" _I found your bag in the back of my car and thought that you might need it. I think I saw you put your wallet in it."_

Emily watched as Dylan began looking around in the room, almost as it he was searching for something. As he was distracted, she opened her mouth wider so that a part of his hand slipped into it. She bit down hard.

Her teeth sank into his flesh and the scream that escaped his lips was very satisfying to her ears. She then used the situation to alert Morgan that something bad was going on inside her home.

She only managed to get out his name in a raspy and not very loud voice before Dylan had his hand back on her mouth, pressing down hard and crushing her lips between her teeth and his hand.

" _Prentiss, you okay?"_

Emily tried to scream through Dylan's hand but there wasn't much sound.

" _Emily?"_

"Shut up!" Dylan spat at her in a low voice, but she ignored his words and kept making as much noise as she possibly could.

Dylan then quickly moved his hand, elbowed her in the stomach and put his hand back over her mouth. The blow left Emily out of breath and her screams stopped.

" _I'll give you five seconds to answer me before I break down this door,"_ Morgan shouted through the door as he sensed something wasn't right.

Emily watched Dylan turning his head from side to side, probably trying to find the best way to escape all while she fought for air and listened to Morgan counting down from five on the other side of the door.

"This is not over," Dylan growled in a low voice before he flew off her and bolted towards the back door.

He had just made it out when Morgan crashed through Emily's front door, gun in hand.

She couldn't see him but she could hear him. No matter how grateful she was for him showing up and realising something was wrong, the only thing she could think of at the moment was that he could not see her like this. Not with her shirt pushed up and her pants down her thighs, she would like to keep some of her dignity. And besides, he would assume the worst and she didn't want to put him through that.

She reached for her pants and hooked her fingers through two of the loops before beginning to pull them up. What she hadn't expected was the explosion of burning pain that spread through her left wrist as she did. She must have sprained it when she used it to break her fall during the beginning of the attack.

"Emily?"

She realised that she must have given away some sound without noticing it as Morgan called her name from the hallway. It didn't matter though, the only thing that mattered was to get her pants up over her hips and her shirt down.

She bit down on her lip to keep herself from making any sound, gave her pants one forceful tug and then they were back on. She then used her right hand to pull down her shirt over her exposed stomach in one quick motion.

Only then did she allow herself to fully acknowledge the pain rushing through her body and the darkness that insisted on invading her vision.

"Damn!" she heard Morgan swear and that was when she knew he had spotted her on the floor behind the kitchen island.

"Prentiss?"

She felt something warm encircling her hand, thankfully the non-sprained one, and managed to get her eyes open. Her visual focus was off but it was definitely Morgan that was crouching down next to her, taking her hand in his.

"Who did this to you?"

Morgan suspected it to be Dylan and his anger towards the man increased as she confirmed his suspicions.

"Is he still here?" Morgan asked through clenched teeth as he alternating from looking around the room and gazing down at her.

"Don't... know," Emily whispered quietly as she let her eyelids fall back down.

Morgan was torn between what to do. He needed to clear the rest of the house but he didn't want to leave her. "Hold on for me," he said and gave her hand one last, gentle squeeze before he reluctantly let go. He then rose and began the search.

Emily was oblivious to how much time that had passed when she once again felt Morgan's hand on hers. "He's not here," Morgan breathed as he came to sit next to her.

"Jesus," he exclaimed as he looked her over. Her cheek and lips were both swollen and bleeding. She had bruises all over her arms and her left hand had turned into a blue shade and was starting to take on a very prominent swelling. As if that wasn't enough, her breathing sounded very much like it shouldn't, ragged and strained.

"Hang on, Emily," he urged as he reached for his phone and dialled 911.

He quickly told them what was going on and they promised him both police and an ambulance. He then felt her fingers wrap themselves tighter around his as he ended the call.

"Help is on the way," he told her and carefully squeezed her hand.

"Don't let me go," Emily whispered.

Those words. Those four words filled him with so many mixed emotions. They reminded him of the last time they had been like this, she barely conscious and him waiting for help to arrive, unable to do anything. There were guilt and sorrow, but also hope because this time she didn't ask him to let go. This time her will to live was stronger than what it had been a little over a year ago.

Morgan blinked back the tears in eyes the memories and the current situation caused. "I didn't the last time, even though you told me to, so why would I do it now?" Morgan said with a voice full of emotions, smiling down at his partner.

"Yeah... you're right. I forgot...about that," Emily breathed and smiled weakly without opening her eyes.

"You're gonna be okay," Morgan mumbled as he gently stroked her hair. He was filled with dread as he saw his fingers turning red.

Where the hell was that ambulance he had called for?

* * *

 _A/N: That's it. And yes, I know I'm mean leaving you like that. It's scary to post the first chapter but hope you found it interesting. Until next time!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Wow! The response to the first chapter was amazing, thank you guys! I hope I will be able to keep your interest. Now, I'll let you enjoy this one._

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

The ambulance drove as fast as it possibly could without causing further damage to its precious cargo.

After the paramedics had arrived, Morgan had given them as much information as he could about the situation. They had then given Emily a quick but thorough examination before wheeling her out of the building on a stretcher while Morgan walked quickly beside it, holding her hand.

He hadn't stayed back at her house until the cops arrived. Instead, he rode along in the ambulance, furious and anxious. When they reached the hospital, Morgan ran beside the stretcher until they told him that he wasn't allowed to go any further.

He then watched as the medics that were named Ben and Angela, according to their name tags, wheeled her down the corridor in a hurry.

Morgan kept his eyes on his partner until they turned the corner and he lost sight of her. He then made a quick phone call to Hotch, only telling him the short version of the story and then hung up. Now it was only the worst part left, the waiting.

Morgan started pacing the waiting area and tried to think about something else than the fact that he had Emily's blood smeared on his shirt and hands. He walked and walked, probably scaring the old lady sitting in one of the many chairs as he pounded his clenched fist into his palm over and over, looking like madman.

His trance was broken by a familiar voice calling out his name in surprise.

"Morgan?"

Morgan stopped pacing, hand in mid-air and turned towards the voice. A few feet away stood JJ, and next to her Will. They both looked surprised and confused to see him there.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked in concern as she noticed the blood on his hands.

Morgan didn't answer her, he didn't even dwell on the fact that his friends were already at the hospital even though he had called Hotch no more than fifteen minutes ago to fill him in on what was going on. The possibility that Hotch had then called the LaMontage-Jareau household to inform them about the situation, and assuming that they had decided to come to the hospital the second they got the call, would leave them with fifteen more minutes before they should have reached the place judging from where they live.

Morgan however was too riled up to reason like that, or to keep track of time.

"What are you doing here?" JJ asked as she neared him.

"I brought her here," Morgan answered without realising that he wasn't making any sense at all.

"Who?" JJ was confused; she didn't understand what had happened or what he was talking about.

"Emily."

"Why? What happened? Where is she?" The questions came out of JJ in a rapid motion.

"Dylan happened," Morgan said through clenched teeth as he once again began his pacing, though this time the dear old lady seemed more relaxed as there were other people in the room now besides the furious man and herself.

"Oh my God!" JJ exclaimed and covered her mouth with her hand. Next to her, Will placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "How bad is it?"

Morgan stopped and ran his hands over his bald head in an attempt to control the emotions flowing through his body. He was angry as hell and all he wanted to do was put his fist through a wall, or more preferably Dylan's face.

He was worried. Worried that his friend might not be able to take anymore of this shit that had been thrown at her during the week.

He was also scared. The hospital, the waiting, the not knowing reminded him of last time he had found Emily bleeding on the floor and then had to wait for someone to tell him if she had made it. He thought... no he knew he couldn't handle being told that she hadn't made it a second time.

Morgan then took one deep breath, trying to clear away some of the anger before answering JJ's question. "It looked pretty bad, but I'm not sure," he finally managed to get out while keeping his eyes closed and his hands intertwined on his head.

He then brought his hands down and opened his eyes. He was met by JJ's teary ones. The tears that kept forming in Morgan's eyes were both of compassion for his partner but also from fury towards the man that had put her here. He was unable to look into JJ's worried and wet eyes any longer and averted his gaze towards the floor.

"Come on, let us go and sit down for a minute." Morgan heard Will say to JJ as he started leading her towards one of the empty chairs.

"Maybe you should sit down too," he suggested to Morgan as he had made sure his wife was seated.

"I can't," Morgan replied shortly and started pacing the room again to keep his anger in check.

"I understand," Will nodded as he took a seat next to his wife, but he continued to keep a watchful eye on the black agent as the time passed.

* * *

"Morgan!"

Morgan, who had now moved on to pacing the corridors near the waiting area, stopped and spun around at the sound of his name. He watched as Hotch hurried towards him looking very exhausted, but Morgan also detected a look of determination on his face.

"What happened?" he asked as soon as he had reached his subordinate.

Morgan, standing close to one of the lightly painted walls, put his right elbow against it and rested his head in his hand as he let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know for sure. The only thing I know is that the bastard Dylan had something to do with it."

"How bad?" Hotch wanted to know.

"Bad," Morgan grunted angrily and rubbed his eyes. He then leaned his head against the wall and slammed his hand against it. Images of his partner lying bloody and bruised on the floor flashed through his mind and then they stopped on the worst one. The one of her in a state that she probably thought he hadn't seen her in, but he had.

"Morgan?" Hotch spoke as he carefully observed his agent. A more troubled expression than the one before had found its way to Morgan's face.

"Her pants were unbuttoned and her shirt was a mess," Morgan spit out, the pain evident in his voice.

From the look on his boss' face, he was thinking the same thing as Morgan had done ever since he had seen her like that.

"What if..." Morgan swallowed loudly. "What if he raped her?" Morgan said hoarsely and looked at Hotch, the look almost pleading with him to say it wasn't a possibility.

Unfortunately, Hotch couldn't do that. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Did you ask her if he did?" Hotch tried to keep his voice and face controlled but Morgan could see the underlying rage he was trying to suppress.

"No," Morgan almost whispered as he let his head lean against the wall in order to control his emotions. As rage once again filled him, he slammed his fist against the wall, again. "I'm going to kill him!"

"Morgan, calm down. I know hitting things helps you deal with your frustration but you're scaring the staff," Hotch said looking at the nurses that were sending them frightened glances. "Take a walk if you need to."

"No, I'm not leaving!" Morgan stated. He couldn't risk not being there the minute there was any news about Emily.

"Then you need to calm down," Hotch told him.

Morgan felt his eyes on him as he closed his own and took three deep breathes to calm himself down. "Got it," he said in a much more collected voice as he opened his eyes. They still held the furious look but he was doing a good job at keeping himself in check.

"I need to call the others," Hotch said and began searching his pockets for his phone. "They have a right to know what's going on."

"I'll help you," Morgan offered and pulled out his phone. "I'll take Garcia."

"I'll take Rossi and JJ then you can take Reid," Hotch suggested as he punched in Rossi's number.

JJ! Morgan had forgotten about her. As he remembered he told Hotch that she and Will were already there.

"What are they doing here?" Hotch questioned as he stopped himself from pressing the call button and looked at Morgan.

"Honestly, I have no idea. The medics had just wheeled Prentiss away when they showed up. They're in the waiting area."

Hotch looked in the direction of the mentioned room but didn't move. "We'll make the calls and then we'll head back in there," he stated and put the phone to his ear.

Morgan then did the same as he was trying to reach Reid.

* * *

The shrilling sound of his phone woke him up with a start. He looked at the bedside clock and sighed before he reached for his phone. He had only slept for an hour.

"David Rossi," he answered the call curtly.

" _Dave, it's Aaron. I'm at the hospital."_

"Are you okay? What happened?" Rossi was immediately more alert.

" _I'm fine. It's Prentiss, she's been hurt."_

"I'm on my way," Rossi said and ended the call at the same time as he was swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

* * *

Reid had just dozed off as the vibration of his phone on the bedside table brought him back to consciousness. He had only moments earlier crawled into bed after having finished his book and really wanted to ignore the call and go back to sleep, but he knew that wasn't an option with this job.

Without opening his eyes or lifting his head from the pillow, he reached out for his buzzing phone and almost knocked the lamp off the table in the process.

"This is Dr. Spencer Reid," he answered sleepily.

" _Hey, Kid. It's Morgan."_

"Morgan? Why are you calling me this late?" Reid mumbled.

" _It's about Emily, she's at the hospital."_

"What happened? Is she okay?" the younger agent questioned as his head flew up from the pillow.

" _I don't know for sure but I know that prick Dylan had something to do with it. She's still in with the doctors so we don't know anything yet."_

"Which hospital?" Reid asked as he practically fell out of bed.

Morgan answered him quickly. "I'll be there in a few minutes," Reid assured him as he struggled to put on his pants while clutching the phone between his head and his shoulder.

* * *

"Ooohhh nooo!" Garcia groaned as her phone started on her way too cheery ringtone.

She untangled herself from Kevin's arms and reached for her phone that had accidentally ended up on the floor.

She squinted at the bright screen and she caught a glimpse of the picture she had taken of Morgan and chosen as his profile picture for his contact on her phone.

"You know I wouldn't hurt you but this better be good," she grunted as she answered his call.

" _It's not. Prentiss is in the hospital."_

"Oh, Mighty! How did that happen?!"

" _Don't know for sure but what I know is that I found her beaten on the floor when I went back to her place to return her bag and that it was Dylan's doing."_

Garcia could pretty much feel his anger through the line. She herself had to choke back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I'll be right there," she sniffled and ended the call.

She then rolled over to wake Kevin up and fetched her glasses placed on the bedside table along the way. Her hands shook and her vision was blurred from the tears, she could definitely not drive in this state.

* * *

Reid was the first one to arrive as his apartment was closest to the hospital.

He came in dressed in a wrinkled shirt and blue jeans. His hair was even more out of place than it usually was. He had barely reached the four familiar faces before another one entered the room.

Rossi had probably broken quite a few speeding laws on his way over there but he didn't care, and there had been no cops on the road to stop him.

"Any news?" he asked as soon as he entered the room and spotted the gathering.

"Not yet," Hotch said with a grim face.

They had been waiting for an hour and the only thing the nurses could tell them was that she was still in with the doctors, getting her injuries examined and documented.

Moments later the sound of heels clicking against the floor could be heard. The team turned to the sound and found Garcia hurrying towards them, almost tripping over her own feet. Kevin was a step behind her, also walking with rushed steps.

Hotch looked over his team. Garcia's red rimmed eyes didn't go unnoticed by anyone, neither did Morgan's frustration or JJ's worry as she was jiggling her leg where she sat. Rossi who usually managed to keep his emotions from showing looked like crap. Hotch knew how much his and Emily's relationship had evolved over the years and he was once again waiting for someone to tell him the condition of the woman he looked at as his daughter.

"What has happened to my dark haired beauty and why is everybody still out here? Aren't there any nurses around here to torture until they let us in?!"

"The doctors are still with her," Hotch replied.

"Oh my God! It's that bad!" Garcia shrieked and Kevin instantly slipped an arm around her waist as he watched her losing her balance.

"We'll sit by JJ," Kevin decided and steered his girlfriend in that direction.

After that, they didn't have to wait for long. Only ten minutes after everyone had arrived, a woman dressed in a white lab coat entered the room and called out for the family of Emily Prentiss.

She was rather surprised when everyone in the waiting room rose, the old lady had left thirty minutes ago, and came to stand close to her.

"Are all of you family?" she asked and looked from one person to the next.

"Yes," Morgan almost snapped at her.

"We work with her," Hotch explained and sent his agent a sharp look telling him to calm down.

"Okay," said the doctor whose name tag read Stephanie Wills. "Agent Prentiss will be fine. During the fight she sprained her wrist, it will heal in a few weeks. Three of her ribs are cracked, none of them fully broken. They will heal by themselves, but it will take up to two months."

The doctor paused and watched as the dark man standing to her right closed his eyes and ran a hand over his bald head. She wondered about his connection to the agent. She then looked at the blonde woman wearing glasses and dressed in a colourful attire. The poor thing looked like her heart was being crushed to a million pieces.

"I found bruises on her body, both new and old. If I remember it correctly her chart said something about a pond and a bullet?" Wills said and looked at the group for confirmation.

"Yes, she was injured while working a case," Hotch confirmed.

The doctor nodded before continuing. "What worries me the most is that she has sustained her second concussion this week. At the moment there is no sign that the second did more damage than the first one but I want to keep her for a few days to keep a close eye on it. She also re-injured her shoulder so the healing process will take a little longer than expected for that one."

Wills looked up from her chart. "Do you have any questions?"

"Can we see her?" Garcia sniffed.

"She woke up briefly after we had finished with her but then went back to sleep quickly. I wouldn't recommend you all to enter at once, two at a time I'd say."

The group nodded their understanding.

"I'll show you to her room," Wills smiled and began leading them down the hall to see their hurting friend.

* * *

 _A/N: Yes, I know I keep putting poor Emily through the wringer, but this time I think I'll give her some time to recover. See you!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Hello again! It's time for our agent to wake up and face the team._

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

Pain. Everywhere there was pain. Every inch of her body hurt. Worst was the back of her head. It felt like someone was constantly banging at it with a piece of wood.

Then her other senses kicked in.

She could swear she recognised the smell that reached her nose even though she couldn't place it, not at first. It smelled clean, almost too clean, something similar to alcohol based cleaners or disinfectant. Even though she couldn't determine exactly what that smell was, her whole body associated it with something bad, something uncomfortable, something scary.

After that it was her hearing that took over.

She heard the familiar sound of people talking, she couldn't hear what was being said, probably just some causal chit-chat. Someone was laughing, maybe someone had delivered a joke. And then she heard the worst sound of them all, the sound of machines. Not the typical machine you can find at an industry, no what she heard was the sound of hospital machines, beeping and quietly wheezing machines.

She felt the panic starting to rise as she realised she was in a hospital. She vaguely noticed the beeping of the heart rate monitor quickening with it.

She feared to open her eyes. The last time she had been in a situation like this none of the people she love had been there when she opened them. She had been all alone in an empty room. She had been terrified then and she was now, too.

And then in the middle of her rising panic, she heard what sounded like music to her ears.

"Hey, hey! Take it easy, girl. You're safe."

She felt her heartbeat slow though it didn't return to normal. She was afraid her mind was playing a trick on her. She didn't trust what she had heard, she needed visual confirmation that she hadn't imagined it.

Emily fought to open her eyes. The pounding in her head was a constant factor as she did and as she became more alert she also became more aware of her aching body, not just her throbbing head.

The brightness from the fluorescent lights blinded her momentarily but she refused to go back to the darkness. She needed to verify that the person she thought she had heard was there, that she wasn't alone.

It took three, maybe four, seconds for her to find what she had been looking for.

Sitting in a chair placed close to her bed was Morgan. She sought out his eyes and felt herself relax. Her heartbeat was coming back to normal and her tensed muscles sank further into the mattress of the bed she was in.

"Hey, Princess," Morgan greeted her softly and reached out for the hand closest to him, which turned out the be the bandaged one. He stopped himself moments before he was about to take it in his own, realising his mistake.

Emily then completed the action for him, taking his in hers while she was ignoring the pain it caused her. As she did, the corners of his lips began tugging at a smile.

"Thank you," she said in a raspy voice.

"Anytime," Morgan replied and then studied her.

The swelling on her face was worse now than when he last saw her and her complexion was paler than usual. Morgan thought she looked so small, resting in the big bed, and the need to protect his partner became even greater.

She had an IV connected to her arm and some wires traveled from the machines and then disappeared under her hospital gown. He hated seeing his partner like this. He hated seeing anyone he cared for like this, be it his mother, his sister or another member of the team.

"You look like crap," Emily commented and broke the silence that had filled the room.

The comment caught him off guard. "Thanks..." Morgan chuckled.

"Just telling you the truth," Emily grinned carefully and gave his hand a squeeze before letting it go.

She then heard talking coming from outside the room.

"... not all at once."

"I think she can handle it."

The familiar faces of the rest of her team then appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, guys," Emily greeted them and tried to smile at her guests. Her swollen cheek made it rather painful.

"How are you?" Rossi asked at the same time as something colourful sprinted towards her bed.

"Look at you!" Garcia exclaimed and waved her hands at Emily. "All bruised and bandaged and..." She was interrupted by the tears forming in her eyes.

Emily felt bad for yet again causing her friends so much worry. She then did something that surprised everyone in the room. "Come here," she said and held out her arms for Garcia.

Garcia stared at her for a brief moment before she walked into Emily's arms and let herself be embraced. As she did, some of the tears she had been fighting off started to fall down her cheeks. Garcia had to use every tiny bit of her willpower not to crush her friend in one big bear hug. She knew Emily was injured and she was afraid of hurting her even more.

"I'm sorry," Emily whispered in her ear as she held the blonde.

Garcia freed herself from Emily's arms and looked at her. "You are _not_ the one who should be sorry. If anyone should be sorry it's the bad man that did this to you!"

"Speaking of which, you up to giving your statement? I know you just woke up but the sooner the better," Hotch said. "I got a call from the head of the investigation and he informed me that it was okay for one of us to take it. But if you'd rather have one of their detectives do it I'll just call and tell them so."

Did she want any of them to hear what she had to say? It would probably be easier to tell someone she didn't know, but she also felt safe talking to her team. She weighed the two alternatives against each other for a few seconds. She landed on the decision that someone from the team could do it.

She shook her head slowly and said, "One of you is fine."

"Who do you prefer?" Hotch then asked her. It was an unfair question, he realised, having her decide when they were all in the room. "We'll go and wait outside so that you can have some time alone to think about it."

The team members looked at Hotch. They didn't want to leave, but they also knew Emily wouldn't answer the question honestly if they didn't, so reluctantly they left her room. The quiet gave Emily some time and space to think about the question.

Garcia was not an option. She didn't even have to think about it. She knew it would hurt her and technically she wasn't an agent like the others so giving her statement to her might not be the best idea.

She immediately excluded Reid, too. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, it was just that she didn't want him to be the one to hear about it. She wanted to spare him the pain she knew it would bring him.

Her thoughts trailed on to Morgan. Sure, he had been the one to find her and practically save her but she didn't think he could handle it either. He wouldn't be able to stay objective, he would show too many emotions and he would just make it harder for her to tell as she would see how badly her words were hurting him. No, not Morgan.

Maybe Hotch? He would be able to control his emotions, but he was also her boss. Did she really want to sit here and talk about how her ex had ambushed her with her boss? No, not really.

She moved on to the next person. Rossi would, like Hotch, be able to keep his emotions under control, but he already knew so much about her. Her past, both her earlier years and the more recent. She trusted him, she did, but she wanted to save him from some of the bad.

That left her with JJ. Did she want JJ to be the one to listen to her story? JJ was the type of person that made the hard stuff easier to talk about. She listened without interrupting, she didn't judge and she had this calm that radiated safety.

Yes, she could talk to JJ.

She had just made up her mind when Hotch returned to her room. "Have you decided?"

"Yes," Emily replied.

"None of us will take it personally, no matter who you pick," he assured her as he watched her conflicted expression.

"I know," Emily responded and took a breath. She then exhaled saying a name, "JJ."

* * *

JJ was just about to go inside Emily's room when Hotch approached and pulled her aside.

"There's something I need to talk to you about," he said in a low voice as they stepped away from the door leading to Emily's room.

"What is it?" JJ asked and looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Morgan told me something earlier, about when he found Emily, and I need you to convince her to do a thing."

The knot in JJ's stomach tightened as she looked into her boss' eyes. She swallowed loudly before she said, "Okay, what is it?"

Hotch's eyes shifted from her to the floor and then he looked up at her again. "I need you to convince her to do a rape kit."

JJ stared at him with wide eyes. "Does Morgan think she was raped?" she asked when the initial shock had passed and she had found her voice again.

"He doesn't know. All he knows is that when he entered her place, she was on the floor and her pants were down," Hotch said quietly as he tried to keep his emotions from showing, he was deeply worried about what had happened during the attack. "Her shirt was also pushed up."

"Oh, God..." JJ breathed and looked at the door leading to Emily's room.

"You think you can handle this?"

JJ brought her gaze back to him and nodded. "Yeah, and I'll try to get her to agree on it."

"She probably won't mention it on her own, but wait until she has finished her story before you ask her about it," Hotch instructed her.

"I will," JJ responded.

"Good luck."

JJ gave him a small nod and then turned her back to him as she began walking towards Emily's room. She drew a deep breath before she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

* * *

"And then what happened?"

JJ was sitting in the chair Morgan had occupied earlier and looked at the bruised agent.

Emily picked her fingernails as she spoke. "He kicked me again." She paused and took a breath while she kept her eyes on the blanket covering her. "After that he pulled me up by my hair and slapped me as he told me he was teaching me a lesson."

"What lesson?" JJ asked softly.

"I had to understand that I couldn't 'sleep around' with other men without enraging him," Emily sighed and ran her uninjured hand through her hair. She needed a shower. She could still smell him on her. If she closed her eyes she could feel his hands roaming over her body.

JJ nodded and looked at the recorder she had placed on the chair next to the one she was seated in. It was still recording. Good. "What happened next?"

The shower would have to wait until she had finished giving her statement. "He threw me down on the floor. I tried to get up but he told me to stay down and used his foot to keep me there."

Emily still kept her eyes away from JJ's and her fingers had now moved on from picking at her nails to playing with the blanket. "Then he pinned my arms above my head and I aimed a kick at him, but he moved out of the way. That only pissed him off even more, he told me I was pushing it."

She knowingly left some parts of the story out. Mostly because she wanted to pretend that they had never happened, it was easier that way. If she thought about it she would have to deal with it and to be honest, she didn't want to. That was also one of the reasons she wanted to take a shower, if she could wash him away then it would be easier to forget.

"I fought back some more and after a while he banged my head against the floor. Everything turned black for a moment and I kind of ended up in a daze."

She had abandoned the blanket and was now back to picking her fingernails.

"We went at it for a while and then we both heard someone at the door. Morgan was there to drop off my bag and while Dylan was distracted I managed to bite him. He screamed out, which alerted Morgan," Emily explained. "Dylan then started looking for a way out as Morgan was threatening to break down the door. He had just run off when Morgan kicked in the door."

Emily had moved her right hand to her mouth without even noticing it and was currently biting her nails. JJ noticed though.

"Morgan found me, checked the place for Dylan and then called for an ambulance," Emily finished.

JJ sighed mentally. From what Emily had told her it sounded like that was it. Nothing about a rape or a sexual assault. Deep down JJ knew Emily would never mention anything if something had happened as she was most likely blaming herself for it.

"Are you sure that is all?" JJ probed.

"Of course I'm sure." Emily was starting to get defensive. "I was there."

"Exactly, you were there. But so was Morgan and he's saying there's more to the story," JJ explained softly.

"What's he saying?" Emily asked, her irritation showing.

"That when he first saw you, your pants were down and your shirt was pushed up." JJ looked at her with concern.

"He's mistaken," Emily instantly replied. At that point she realised she was biting her nails. Angrily she threw her hand down on the blanket and it didn't take long before she nervously started picking at it.

"Are you sure?"

Emily looked up at the blonde. JJ spoke softly and her gaze didn't show any sign of judgement.

"Nothing happened," Emily mumbled and looked away from her.

"Denying it isn't going to help you get over it," JJ whispered.

"Nothing happened!" Emily insisted and blinked back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

Nothing had happened.

"Emily." JJ gently placed a hand on her leg. "Emily, look at me."

Emily blinked away the last of the tears and reluctantly looked at her friend.

"None of us will think any less of you if it did. You're not invincible, neither am I. Or Hotch, or Morgan or any of us. We're all just human."

The tears were back and Emily stubbornly refused to let them fall. He had made her feel so weak. As he had held her down she had felt powerless, unable to move or to do anything to stop him. She hated how he had made her feel. She never wanted to feel like that again, but now it was all coming back.

When she started talking, she did it quietly. "After he had told me to stay down he..." Emily swallowed, "he told me I was beautiful when angry."

JJ gave her a small nod and a tiny smile, encouraging her to go on.

"I recognised the look in his eyes and I really tried to get away but he had the advantage. He banged my head against the floor and then he started... touching me."

Emily looked averted her eyes as she felt the embarrassment burning her cheeks. She should have been able to fight him off, she was a trained FBI agent for God's sake!

JJ felt her heart ache for her friend but she made sure her eyes only reflected empathy. "Emily...?"

Emily cleared her throat before she spoke again, "I told him to stop but he started kissing my neck instead."

She tilted her head back and blinked rapidly. "Do I really have to talk about this? He copped a feel and then Morgan scared him off, that's it."

"They need to know what happened," JJ said, hating to be the one to force her to talk about something she didn't want to.

Emily sighed loudly and turned to look out the window. "He told me it wasn't like we hadn't done it before and that it was the least I could do for him after the week I had put him through."

JJ could clearly hear the hatred as she spoke, but also the pain.

Emily decided to just get it over with and spoke quickly. "After that he started kissing me on my mouth, pushed up my shirt and undid the button of my pants before pushing them down. That's when Morgan banged on the door and the rest you know."

Emily looked up at JJ from the bed. She was done. She had told her everything she wanted to know and now her protective walls were coming back up.

JJ was an emotional mess on the inside but she made sure it didn't show. She felt anger towards Dylan, she felt bad for putting Emily through this and she wanted nothing more than to take Emily's pain away, but she knew she couldn't.

Emily had said she was done, however JJ still had one more question to ask. She took one last breath to keep her emotions under control.

"Did he rape you?"

Emily's face took on a blank expression but that didn't keep it from paling slightly, when thinking of how close he had come. If not for Morgan then... "No," she said shortly.

JJ studied her and tried to decide if she was telling the truth. "If you agree to do a rape kit it will back up your story," she added gently.

"You don't believe me?" Emily questioned, the blank expression gone and a small fire starting to show in her eyes.

"Of course I believe you," JJ assured her. She did believe her. It was just that a rape kit would mean more to a jury than her words. Because JJ was pretty sure this was going to court, Dylan had shown what he was capable of and JJ doubted he would just back off and not try again.

Emily looked at her, deciding if she was telling the truth or not. As she thought about it she got angry with herself, JJ wouldn't lie to her. She wasn't like that. She couldn't say the same about herself though, she had lied only minutes ago directly to JJ's face.

If JJ didn't believe her, not that she thought she didn't, she couldn't blame her. Emily had proven that she could easily lie and leave things out if she wanted to so she shouldn't expect anything else from others.

She didn't want to do it but she knew it was the easiest way to make them believe her. "Fine, I'll do it," she said and looked away, again.

Her head turned as she felt something on her arm.

JJ had reached out for her and had placed her hand on Emily's upper arm. "Thank you," she mouthed before she removed her hand and reached for the recorder.

"I'll get this one to the cops," JJ told her as she rose and held up the recorder. "Will you be okay if I leave?"

"I'll be fine," Emily replied and faked a smile.

JJ didn't believe her. Although she wanted to stay and be there for her, she knew leaving Emily alone and give her time to deal with it was sometimes the best option. "I'll be back later."

Emily watched as JJ closed the door behind her as she left. Talking had been exhausting. She leaned back in her bed and felt her eyelids drop. She decided on taking a short nap before entering the shower.

She tried to make herself as comfortable as possible but it wasn't easy. Because of the giant goose egg in the middle of the back of her head she had to lay with her head sideways. It wasn't comfortable but nothing was at the moment.

She rubbed her forehead in frustration and closed her eyes. Her headache was getting worse and she hoped that some sleep would help. She also knew that she was using sleep to escape what she had just talked about, and that she was deliberately using it to avoid the people she knew would soon crowd her room.

* * *

 _A/N: So, JJ convinced her tell the truth. Next time a visit to the crime scene and some interviews will take place. Hopefully that will lead them somewhere. See you then!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I'm back! I don't really have anything to say so go on and read._

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

JJ quietly closed the door behind her and turned the corner after having finished her talk with Emily. Who she found waiting there, leaning against the hospital wall, didn't surprise her at all. The worry and anguish on his face had JJ realising that he had remained unsure of what had truly happened to Emily for far too long. She felt some relief that she now could ease some of his pain as she had the answer to what she knew he had been waiting on for the last couple of hours.

"He didn't do it," JJ said as she stopped in front of Morgan.

"Are you sure?"

"She says he didn't and I believe her. She did also agree to do a rape kit after some persuasion."

Morgan sighed and ran his hand over his bald head. "He would have done it if I hadn't decided to go back."

"Morgan," JJ said and placed a gentle hand on his arm, "You can't think like that."

"Well, it's easier said than done," he breathed. "He tried and now he's out there. We don't know where he is or when he'll come back for her. And we obviously can't protect her, he has already gotten to her twice."

"Hey." JJ waited until the dark agent looked at her. "Derek, we're going to get him. And we can protect her. While she is in the hospital, one of us will always be here. We'll give his photo to the staff so that they'll recognise him if he tries to get inside to see her. And when she gets out of here, we'll figure something out. We'll take every precaution to make sure she is safe."

Morgan still looked like crap but JJ saw that her words had some effect as a few of his worried lines disappeared from his face. Movement in the corner of her eye brought her attention to the person coming their way.

"How did it go?" Hotch asked as he reached the pair.

"Like I expected it to," JJ replied. "He did a number on her but she says he didn't rape her."

Hotch nodded. "At least that's something. And the rape kit?"

"Not happy about it but she did agree."

"Good," Hotch said. "I was just on the phone with the lead investigator and he has agreed to let us take part in the investigation. He says it is okay for us to follow them around as long as we don't interfere."

"Will we get access to the evidence and case file?" Morgan asked.

"I think I can talk them into getting us copies of the case file but the physical evidence will be off limits. We don't want anyone to suspect we tampered with it to give one of our own the advantage."

"Understandable," JJ agreed with a small nod.

"It's late and we haven't slept for hours. Go home and get some rest. We'll start over tomorrow with fresh eyes," Hotch told them.

"I'm not leaving her," Morgan said and pointed at Emily's door.

"Well, neither is Garcia I'm afraid." Hotch had bumped into the technical analyst in the cafeteria when he had moved away to take the incoming call from the Sergeant. He had told her to go home and get some sleep but she had politely refused. She was going to stay with Emily tonight, no matter what. "You two can stay here but I doubt they have any empty beds for you. The news just showed that a bus filled with passengers has crashed."

"We'll sleep on chairs," Morgan decided. His still sore body wouldn't appreciate it but there was no question about it, he was staying.

* * *

The next time Emily woke up she thought she must have done it in the wrong room. Everywhere there were flowers, get well balloons and she even had a stuffed teddy bear sitting at the edge of her bed. She also noticed a new set of pajamas neatly folded next to the bear. It wasn't until she noticed something colourful sagging in a chair in the corner of the room that it all made sense to her. Garcia had decorated her room while she had been asleep.

Emily smiled at her friend who had her head resting in her hand and had her glasses perched on the tip of her nose. Even though the position looked uncomfortable she looked peaceful. And the fact that she was also drooling all over her hand made the scene even more charming.

Emily, who had thought she would only sleep for a few hours, had actually slept throughout the whole night. The nightmares she had expected hadn't disturbed her yet and for that she was thankful. It was bad enough that she had them, it would be even worse if the team was there to witness her waking up because of them.

Emily abandoned her thoughts about the nightmares she knew would haunt her; instead she turned her attention to the single window her room held. Based on the rising sun she concluded it must be early morning. She couldn't look outside for long though. Normally, looking directly into the sun would be painful but while suffering from the aftermath of a concussion it was unbearable.

Since the sun only made her head hurt even more she shifted her gaze from the window to her sleeping friend. Emily found counting Garcia's breaths soothing, almost meditating. She had pushed everything she talked about yesterday to the back of her mind. She had locked it in a box and she was planning on throwing away the key. The only thing left before she was able to do that was the examination she had agreed on. After that she would be able to fully put this behind her.

Emily kept her mind blank and continued to count Garcia's breaths until the technical analyst started to stir.

The first sign that she was beginning to wake up was a small twitch of her nose. Then came the closing of her mouth and after that the blinking of her eyes. At first, she looked like Emily had felt when she woke up, lost and confused, but then Emily could almost see how her brain quickly sorted everything out.

Garcia hadn't realised she was being watched yet, however she had discovered the small pool of drool in her hand. She wiped her hand on the skirt of her dress and pushed her glasses up her nose.

"If I had known you empty your mouth of saliva when you sleep I could have asked for a bucket," Emily teased.

Garcia's head shot up at her sound of her voice. "You're awake!"

The blonde immediately rose from her chair and walked to the bed. "You've been sleeping for hours. Reid and I went in to check on you after JJ had finished but you were already asleep," Garcia said as she rearranged the stuffed animal and then moved on to straightening out the blanket that was covering Emily.

"I guess I was tired," Emily shrugged only to realise her mistake as her injured shoulder screamed in protest. She tried to keep the pain from showing on her face but judging from the worried look Garcia gave her, she didn't succeed.

"Are you in pain? Do you need me to call for a nurse?"

"I'm fine Penelope, I just need to remember to stay still," Emily assured her and hoped that her words would calm her friend, and thankfully they did.

"Okay," Garcia said and started fidgeting with some of the flowers that were decorating the table next to Emily's bed. "Oh, I forgot!" she suddenly exclaimed and stopped what she was doing. "You must be thirsty. And hungry. I'll be right back!"

Garcia had barely finished talking before she had turned her gaze back to Emily and was out the door to complete her new mission; to hydrate and feed her injured crime fighter.

Emily had just turned her stare to the window, the sun wasn't as bad as before, when someone knocked on the door to signal his or her presence. She turned her head and found a nurse smiling politely at her.

"Hi, my name is Julia. I ran into your friend outside and she told me you're awake. I'm here to do the rape kit."

"Oh," Emily said, growing uncomfortable.

"We were planning on doing it yesterday to assure that most of the evidence could still be collected but you were sleeping and we didn't want to wake you," she explained. "We can still recover evidence up to 72 hours after the attack so this should not be a problem. After this, every one of your injuries should be documented."

"Okay," Emily replied and nodded.

"I told your friend that it was just a routine check-up and that it could take a few hours. She told me that it gave her time to buy you another pair of pajamas," the nurse smiled. She didn't know how much the friends knew about what had happened to the agent and if it had been her in that bed, she wouldn't want some nurse to tell her friend that she was about to go through the painful process of a rape kit.

Emily nodded her thanks. The nurse then got everything ready and at Emily's agreement, she began the examination.

* * *

After it was finished the urge to take a shower was overwhelming. The nurse found her a clean towel and insisted on helping Emily to the adjoining bathroom. Emily didn't argue the woman's offer, simply because she wanted to get to the shower as quick as possible. On her way, Emily also fetched the pajamas placed on the edge of the bed next to the teddy bear. The examination left her feeling violated and dirty and her highest priority was to wash it away, to get rid of the filth.

Julia left her alone in the bathroom after having made sure that her patient wouldn't pass out.

Emily stripped off the hospital gown as quick as possible, which wasn't fast. She found a plastic bag in the cabinet under the sink and used it to wrap around her bandaged hand to keep it from getting wet, she didn't have the energy to take the bandage off. She then pulled the shower curtain aside, started the shower and stepped under the water when it had turned hot enough.

As the warm water poured down on her, Emily did her best to scrub away the violation and filth while ignoring the pain it caused her battered body.

* * *

Emily had just crawled back under the covers with damp hair, feeling exhausted when Garcia returned. But she wasn't alone like Emily expected her to be. From the look of it, the woman she had brought with her was someone from the force.

"This is Hannah Smith, I found her hovering outside your room when I got back here," Garcia introduced the woman following her inside the room. "She's here to ask you a few questions."

The woman looked at Garcia with a smile tugging at her lips. She found the bubbly woman interesting and very unique.

Emily greeted the woman with a nod.

"As your friend mentioned, my name is Hannah Smith and I'm a detective. As you've probably guessed, I'm one of the detectives handling your case."

Garcia had moved to stand next to Emily's bed and was now gently pushing a glass of water into her hand. "Thanks," Emily said and quickly emptied the glass before she handed it back. A sandwich that Garcia had picked up during her time away instantly replaced the empty glass.

"Would now be a good time to ask you a few questions?" Smith wondered.

Emily took a bite of her sandwich to please Garcia who was constantly looking at the food in her hand.

"Sure," Emily replied. But first she had to get rid of Garcia, she couldn't be in the room. Emily wanted her to know as little as possible about what had happened, it was her way of protecting her.

"Could you get me some more water?" Emily asked and turned to the blonde. "And maybe something sweet?" she added.

"Sure thing, Pumpkin," Garcia quipped and happily walked out the room feeling needed.

The truth was that Emily didn't crave anything sweet; she had just added that to make her friend stay away a bit longer.

"What do you want to know?" Emily asked as she placed the sandwich on the table next to the bed and turned to the detective after Garcia had left the room.

"I've already listened to your statement so you won't have to talk about that again but I would like to get some information about your attacker so that we can get an APB out with a description of both him and his car," she began and moved to sit in the chair where Emily had found Morgan when she initially woke up.

"The picture on his driver's license is pretty up to date. I think I have a few pictures of him on my phone but I'm guessing it's in evidence. As for his car, it's a dark blue sedan, Audi A4 from 2000," Emily said and then rambled off the letters and numbers of his license plate.

The Detective repeated the letters and numbers as she wrote them down. "Do you have any idea where he might go?"

Emily turned to look out the window as she pondered the question. She didn't really know much about where her ex used to hang out when he wasn't at home or at her place. "I know he goes to a gym, but I doubt he would hang around there when he knows people are looking for him," she mused. "I also remember him mentioning a friend owning a bar or a pub or something similar that's located downtown."

"That's great. Do you know the name of the places you mentioned, or the name of the friend?"

Emily easily filled her in on the name of the gym but she had to think hard to remember the name of the drinking place. "And I think the friend's name is Jack," she said. "Dylan took me there once and introduced him to me."

"Last name?"

"Don't know," Emily replied.

"Don't feel bad about it," the detective said as she saw the disappointed look on the agent's face. "I hardly remember what I had for dinner last night."

Emily managed to smile a small smile at the woman before she returned to answering the questions she had left for her. She asked her about his job and his family. Emily filled her in on where he worked as an accountant but when it came to the family, she wasn't much help; he had never mentioned any. She also asked her if she knew how Dylan got inside. Was the door open when she got home? No, she had to use her key to unlock it. Does Dylan have a key? No, she never gave him one.

Detective Smith had just thanked Emily for the help when Garcia returned to the room.

"I got you some ice cream!" she exclaimed and held out a bag filled with different flavoured pints of Ben & Jerry's for Emily to see. "I was thinking a little B&J party would help you recover."

Emily couldn't help but to smile at her friend. "That will definitely help."

Even the detective was smiling. "Then I'll leave you ladies to it," she said and began walking towards the door. "I might have a few more questions for you later."

"I know the drill," Emily responded with a nod.

The detective nodded back to her and then left the room.

"Here," Garcia said and placed the ice cream in Emily's bed all while she handed her a spoon. For some reason, Emily thought the ice cream seemed more appealing now when she had it in front of her than it had before.

"Now, let the party begin!" Garcia smiled broadly.

* * *

Morgan had left the hospital before any of the girls had woken up. Hotch had sent him a text telling him to join him as he was about to go over Emily's place. During the night, Morgan had dozed off more times than he could count but he had always woke up due to some noise, fearing it was Dylan. Thankfully it never was, usually it was just a nurse coming in to check on Emily.

Hotch had decided that it was better if Morgan came with him to look at the crime scene instead of tagging along to interview Dylan's friend, he had decided to let JJ and Reid handle that. The dark agent was angry and Hotch thought that he might lash out at the friend if he said something Morgan didn't like, or if he didn't have something to add to the investigation. Either way, he thought it would be better like this.

The two FBI agents, the two detectives from the team that was handling the investigation and the CSU had spread out in Emily's home and were currently busy either supervising the collection of the evidence or actually doing the collection.

Though, the first thing they needed to do when stepping inside her home had been to try to capture Sergio. The cat hadn't been seen by any of the officers securing the crime scene so they had decided to let the agents give locating the cat a try. Morgan had, after some searching finally located him in the laundry room, hiding in the small space between the laundry machine and the wall. He had then lured him out using some tuna and when the cat had finished, Morgan had placed him in the cat carrier Hotch had found in the closet. The agent would bring him to Garcia later since he was already familiar with her and her home. He placed the carrier in a corner where it wouldn't be in the way, it might not be the best place but he had no other option, he didn't want to leave him in the car so it had to be in the house where he could keep an eye on him.

With Sergio found, the investigation of Emily's house could start.

Hotch stood with his arms crossed over his chest. He patiently observed one of the techs checking the door for any sign of forced entry. The team wasn't allowed to take part in the act of collecting the evidence, but they had received the green light on being present at the scene to observe. It was one of their own that had been attacked after all and the force was sympathetic.

"The lock is a little banged up so we'll need to take it back to the lab for further examination before I can tell if it was tampered with or not," the tech concluded and rose from his squat after having photographed the broken lock.

"So we still don't know how he got in," Hotch stated. He glanced sideways at Morgan who was breathing down the neck of one female technician. The woman was extracting blood and hair samples from the floor with great precaution and Morgan was impatiently waiting for her to finish so that she could move on to the next piece of evidence that he had spotted minutes ago.

When his subordinate looked away from the woman and met Hotch's eyes, Hotch sent him a glare telling him to take it easy and to let the men and women in the room do their job. They both knew nothing good would come out of a rushed search.

Hotch moved from the entry hall and continued to the bedroom. Everything in the room looked undisturbed but the techs still crowded the place. Hotch didn't feel comfortable walking around in Emily's home like this. He felt he was invading her privacy. He always respected other people's privacy, mostly because he was so protective of his own.

"Have you found anything of interest?" Hotch questioned as he tried to push his thoughts and feelings about the situation away.

"No, not yet, Sir. It looks like the assault never made this far," a young man dressed in proper attire answered his question.

It was consistent with what Morgan had told him and what Emily had revealed to JJ. "According to my agents, the attack only took place in the hallway and in the kitchen."

"We'll keep looking though, you never know what clues you might find," the tech replied as he returned to his work.

Hotch left the room and walked back to where he had last seen Morgan. The man was now standing a few feet from where Hotch had last seen him. He had abandoned the female tech and was now looking over the shoulder of an older man that was examining pieces of a broken broken glass from what appeared to have been a lamp.

"There's blood on it," Morgan said through clenched teeth as he spotted his boss.

"It must be what he used to ambush her with," a dark voice coming from behind Morgan concluded.

Hotch looked to the door and found a big man with bushy eyebrows standing a few steps inside. "I'm Sergeant Adams, we spoke on the phone earlier," the man said as he looked at Hotch. "I just arrived after having finished listening to the recording of your agent giving her statement. After what I've heard, I'm guessing that's what's left of the object he used to ambush her, smashing it against the back of her head as she entered the home."

"The bastard flung a freaking lamp against her head?!" Morgan raged and clenched his fists.

"According to her statement, yes," Adams said calmly. "I'm sorry about what happened to your agent and I promise you I will do everything within my power to catch this guy."

Hotch nodded slowly. "How do you plan to proceed?" Hotch asked the man as he came to stand next to him.

"As you know, one of my detectives is currently talking to one of the suspect's friends, two of yours are there with her. After we're done here, I plan on sending out a description of both the suspect and his car. Your agent gave us the details necessary," he answered. "I also plan on searching his home and workplace. And I'd like to sit down with you and take your statement," he said and turned to Morgan.

"I'm ready as soon as you are."

Adams nodded and the room fell quiet for a minute before he started talking again. "What this guy did to her is horrible, trust me when I say I got my best men on it."

"I do," Hotch replied and met Adams' determined eyes.

* * *

JJ and Reid followed Detective Smith into the dimly lit pub. With some help they had been able to locate the address of the place Emily had mentioned. Since she had told the detective that one of Dylan's friends owned and worked at the place, she had decided to go there right away since they didn't know where he lived. They were hoping that he might know something about where Dylan had disappeared to.

They didn't have to search for long before they found the man they were looking for. He was standing in the bar and everything he did signalled that he was the man in charge. He was gazing at the girls waiting on the tables as if he owned them and when one of them came back with a drink that a customer didn't like, he took it out on her even though he had been the one to make it.

"I would hate to work for you," Detective Smith said as she reached the bar, JJ and Reid just a few steps behind.

"And why would I care about what you think, Sweetheart?"

"You don't have to. But what you do have to do is answer a few questions about your pal Dylan," she said professionally as she showed him her badge.

As he saw it, he lost some of his cocky attitude. "Fine. Just let me get someone over here to take over," he muttered and called out for one of the girls.

When the girl had been told what to do, the man led the detective and the two agents to a room in the back.

"So, what do you wanna know?" he asked as he sat down behind the single desk and put his feet up on it.

"You could start with telling us your name," Smith replied coolly.

"Jack River."

"Okay, Mr. River. We understand that you're friends with a man named Dylan Archer?"

"I am," the man confirmed.

"When was the last time you saw your friend?"

River scratched his unshaved cheek. "Must've been a week ago, two tops."

"And when you saw him, what did you talk about?"

"The normal stuff, you know. Football, work, girls... Stuff like that."

"So nothing unusual came up during your talk?" Smith pressed on as she wrote down what the man was saying.

"No," River replied. "Oh... wait a minute, I told him about how my girlfriend had started banging this dude she met at work."

JJ and Reid looked at each other. Could the friend's cheating girlfriend be the reason Dylan insisted on that Emily was cheating on him? It was the closest thing to a trigger they had found to his unexpected violent behaviour.

Smith, who had been filled in on Dylan's earlier attack on Emily by the two agents on the way to the pub immediately made the connection too. "And how did he react to that?"

"Agreed with me that she was a slut," River shrugged.

"How did he seem when he left?"

River shrugged again. "I don't know. Determined maybe. He told me he was going home to his girlfriend's place and I told him to keep her on a tight leash," he answered and shot both Detective Smith and JJ a glare that let them know exactly what he thought of women.

"Thank you. That's all for now," Smith said curtly, turned around and walked back to car with Reid and JJ.

"What a douche!" JJ exclaimed as they had reached the car.

"Tell me about it," Smith muttered.

"He clearly sees women as a less worthy group of the human species," Reid commented.

"Yeah," Smith agreed. "As I said before, I'd hate to work for him."

"Me too," JJ replied as she got into the passenger seat.

Smith and Reid quickly followed her example and it didn't take long before they were back in traffic.

* * *

Rossi chose to go back to the hospital after a night's sleep instead of following Morgan and Hotch to the crime scene. He stepped off the elevator and walked the short distance to Emily's room. The scene that met him when he entered the room was one he would remember for quite some time, it was also one that brought a big smile to his face.

The two women were too busy digging into the first pint of ice cream to even notice him. It wasn't until Garcia had accidentally knocked the ice cream off Emily's spoon that they realised they weren't alone.

"Hey, my Handsome Italian!" Garcia greeted him. "Grab a spoon and come and join us!"

Rossi looked suspiciously at the treat the girls were having.

"It's good," Emily added as his eyes met hers. "Not as good as Italian but it's good."

Rossi shrugged. He quickly found a spoon of his own and then he placed a chair next to the bed before he sat down and engaged in the party.

"Hey, Kiddo. How's your head?" he asked after the first spoonful. It wasn't that bad actually.

"Okay. Hurts but that's what to expect," Emily replied as she put another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"Do you want me to call for a nurse?" Garcia immediately asked.

"Pen, I'm fine. A nurse would only pump me full of drugs and I'd rather deal with the pain than get all woozy."

"You sure?" she asked as her worried eyes bore into Emily's.

"I'm sure."

"Then keep filling your body with lots of unhealthy stuff," Garcia said and tapped Emily's spoon with her own. And Emily did, she was kind of hungry and it was good.

"How about your shoulder?" Rossi continued.

"It's fine."

"And your hand?" he asked as he nodded at the bandaged hand.

Emily sighed. "Aching."

"Ribs?"

"Annoying," Emily replied, narrowing her eyes and looking directly at him.

A smile began tugging at Rossi's lips. "Me or them?"

"Both," she answered and gave him a small grin.

Her answer made both Garcia and Rossi laugh. "Well, then I guess I should back off."

"Might be a good idea," she suggested with an amused glint in her eyes.

Rossi chuckled and took another spoon of the ice cream.

"What did I just eat?!" he shouted out and raised his eyebrows as he looked at the women. Up until now he had only managed to get the ice cream itself, but now something else had followed.

"That was probably a piece of a brownie," Garcia replied casually. "Or it could have been cookie dough."

"Interesting..." Rossi thought out loud. He then went for the treat again to take another spoonful. "But who the hell came up with the idea to put _that_ in _there_?"

* * *

 _A/N: That's all for now. I hope you liked it. Come back next time to see how it goes!_

 _Oh, I don't think I've mentioned that the lovely Shadpup is helping me make sure I don't mess up too much while writing. You should have a look at her stories, they're really good._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Next chapter is here. Happy reading!_

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

Three days had passed since the attack and she was getting tired of the hospital. The team had come and gone during those days and she hadn't spent many hours alone. If it hadn't been for her second concussion, she might have been allowed to go home much sooner, which would have been what she preferred.

They hadn't found Dylan, not even a trace of him and it was like he had vanished into thin air. They had contacted all his known associates and they had searched for him where he usually hung out. They had questioned his boss, his coworkers and his family but no one knew where he was or might be.

Around noon Reid had arrived, brining lunch. While they ate they had talked and Emily had tried to make him reveal as much information about the investigation as possible, but all she had been able to get out of him was what she already knew; Dylan hadn't been seen and they did everything they could to find him.

To assure her safety, the police had decided to put a guard outside her door, much to Emily's dislike. She didn't like being treated as if she couldn't take care of herself and she surely didn't need a uniformed babysitter, the team was always there watching over her anyway.

Reid had left after staying for a little over an hour. As he left, he had told her with a guilt ridden face that he had promised to go over some surveillance footage with Garcia. He didn't like taking off so quickly but he had a promise to keep. In lack of any other leads, they had pulled the videos from the cameras around the places where Dylan usually hung out in hopes of spotting him.

Emily had told him to wipe the guilty look off his face, he would he helping her a lot more if he was watching the many hours of footage with Garcia than he would be sitting in her room, killing time.

After Reid left, Emily sagged back in her bed and stared at the ceiling until she decided that she had had enough.

She was tired of constantly staying in bed and now, when no one from the team was there to call her out on it, she decided to take a walk. Not a long one out in the corridors because that would without a doubt alert the guard and hospital staff, no a quick stroll around her room would do, just to get rid of the restless feeling that was growing stronger every day.

She had just made sure her unsteady legs could support her and took the first few slightly painful steps when the door to her room opened and Rossi stepped inside.

 _Damn._

He stopped when he saw her out of bed and looked at her like a father looks at his daughter caught in the act.

"I need to stretch my legs," Emily instantly defended her actions.

"The doctor told you to rest," Rossi countered.

"I have been resting. For three days I have been resting. It's driving me crazy just lying there in that bed," Emily said and pointed at the bed to emphasise what she was saying.

"The point of your stay here is to recover. You won't heal any quicker if you keep overdoing it."

"You need to be calm to be able to rest and I'm everything but so unless I get to pace around for a few minutes I won't get any better at all."

Rossi looked at her and shook his head. She was impossible. "Fine, but I'll come with you. Where to?"

Why not take a walk around the floor she was on since she already had been caught? It would be more eventful than just walking around in circles in her room.

"The corridor," she decided and began walking towards Rossi and the door.

* * *

They had made it halfway around the floor when Rossi noticed the first signs of Emily's exhaustion. She was walking slower and each step she took seemed to require much more willpower. He knew just by looking at her that the walk was more draining than she would ever admit.

"Do you want to take a break?" Rossi carefully asked as he spotted a few chairs ahead of them. Questioning Emily's ability to continue was like implying she was weak and therefore it was always a risky question to ask.

"No," Emily said and looked accusingly at him. "I'm fine."

Both knew it was a lie. The walk had sounded like a good idea at first, and it still was, but she was getting tired. She came up with a thought which she quietly discussed with herself before she came to a decision. What she did next was almost like admitting that she had lied but she still slipped her arm through Rossi's without looking at him, making the walk a bit easier.

The older man didn't make a big deal out of it, he simply bent his arm so that hers could rest against his more comfortably. But her action warmed his heart, she had just let him see the other side of Emily Prentiss, the one that wasn't always fine and didn't always act like she was invincible.

They didn't say anything for the rest of the walk. They slowly circled the floor looking like a quite odd pair, Emily dressed in a pair of pajamas while Rossi was dressed in a dark suit and a tie.

After ten minutes they were back in her room. Rossi walked her up to the bed and she sank down on it with a small sigh.

"You know, on the plane, when I said I needed a bed, I meant my own. Not some sterile old hospital bed that is giving me a bad back," Emily complained as she eased herself further back on the mattress.

Rossi smirked slightly at her comment. "When do they plan on discharging you?"

"I don't know, but if they keep me hostage here much longer I have to start planning an escape," she muttered as she threw the blanket over her legs.

"I could go and talk to them if you'd like."

"Yeah, maybe they'll listen to the nice, charming agent instead of the grumpy one," she replied and made a face.

"Well, we'll see what this old man can achieve," Rossi said and patted her knee before he turned around and walked out the room.

* * *

Emily must have dozed off while waiting for Rossi to return because the next time she opened her eyes the light in the room had changed distinctly. The agent in question was sitting in the chair next to her bed, a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

"Did you manage to charm the doctor into letting me out of here?" Emily croaked.

"Look who's awake," Rossi said at the sound of her voice. He smiled at her and put down his paper.

"Well?" Emily raised her eyebrow and looked expectantly at him.

"You could have been out of here hours ago if you hadn't decided to take a nap."

"Are you serious?" She didn't believe it.

"I had to promise not to leave you alone for the next couple of days, but yes."

"What about the guard?" Emily asked, remembering the officer placed outside her door.

"He and his partner will hang around but ignore them."

"Easier said than done," Emily muttered. She didn't like having someone tailing her but at least she was allowed to leave this place. "Where are the papers?"

"Right here." Rossi picked up a small pile of papers from the floor and handed it over. He then gave her a pen so that she could sign them.

Five minutes later, Emily had signed all the papers necessary and was getting out of bed. She had changed into sweats and a baggy T-shirt and winced as she bent down to tie her shoes but thankfully Rossi wasn't in the room to hear her. When she changed, he had went to get the mandatory wheelchair even though Emily had insisted that she didn't need one. In the end, she had only given in because he had been the one to get her the ticket out of there.

She had just finished with her shoes when Rossi returned to the room, pushing the chair in front of him.

Emily sat down in it without any comment and then let him wheel her through the corridors of the hospital. About halfway he stopped a young hospital volunteer and asked if she could take over while he went to drive the car to the front entry. She happily took over as Rossi walked ahead. They reached the entry as the car came to an halt in front of it.

"Ready?" he asked as he stepped out of the car and opened the passenger door.

"I've been ready since yesterday," Emily replied and rose from the chair. She thanked the volunteer before she got inside the car, placing a hand over her protesting ribs.

Rossi closed the door for her, sat down in the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition. The car roared to life and then the wheels were moving. They could both see the car following them as they drove. The radio was on but Rossi turned it off thinking that Emily would probably appreciate the silence more.

The brunette was grateful for that and she turned to stare out the window, looking at the passing buildings, cars and people. It was a little after midday and the citizens of D.C. were returning to work after lunch.

The longer the ride continued the more the streets and buildings started to look familiar to Emily. It didn't take long until she noticed they had reached her neighbourhood and minutes later Rossi parked the car outside her house.

"You wait here, I'll just run inside and pick up a few things," he said and got out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him.

Emily didn't listen though. She struggled to get out of the car and had just made it when she watched Rossi going inside.

She walked as quickly as she could and when she reached her door the first thing she noticed was that someone, probably the police, had replaced the broken lock and had put up police tape, marking it as a crime scene.

A crime scene. Her home was a crime scene. The only place where she was suppose to feel safe had turned out to be the opposite and it had resulted in her home becoming a crime scene.

She let go of the thought and felt the handle. It was open, Rossi had probably left it open since he would be in and out in a few minutes, not thinking that she would follow.

Emily pushed the door open and took a step inside. That was when the first flashback hit her.

 _The first blow hit her in the back of her head. It made her see stars and sent her flying to the floor without any mercy._

Emily shook her head to get rid of the images. She looked around the room but didn't see Rossi. She guessed he must be in the bedroom, filling a bag with her stuff.

She walked further into the room and then abruptly stopped. She put her arms around herself as she suddenly started to feel cold.

The next thing that caught her attention was the blood on the floor. It was her blood, from when Dylan had smashed her head against it. As soon as her brain had registered this, she was hit by another flashback.

 _From out of nowhere his face changed from furious to something else and then he said, "You're beautiful when you're angry."_

 _At that moment her blood froze. She recognised the look in his eyes. She knew what he wanted and that was when she decided to use whatever strength she had left. She squirmed under his body, threw herself from side to side, aggravating her bruises in the process but she didn't care. She tried to scream as loudly as she could, hoping that one of her neighbours would hear her and come to her rescue._

 _Dylan didn't buckle though. He was using all his strength to hold her down and was smart enough to use his knee to push down on her ribs, which quickly made her focus on breathing and staying conscious instead of screaming and fighting him off._

 _Just to make sure she couldn't put up much of a fight, Dylan eased up the pressure on her chest, released her wrists and grabbed on to the collar of her shirt. He then lifted her up from the floor and slammed her back down again. The action resulted in Emily's head connecting with the floor only to bounce back up again before landing on the floor a second time._

Emily tightened the arms she had around herself and tried to make the images go away. But they didn't.

 _Emily gulped as she felt his hands on her body. She then involuntarily shivered as he started placing light kisses on her neck._

" _Dylan... stop," she struggled to form the words as the pounding in her head continued._

" _Oh, come on, Emily. It's not like we haven't done this before," he mumbled against her neck as his free hand sneaked under her shirt and touched the bare skin of her stomach._

" _I don't... want to," Emily whimpered as she felt her shirt getting pushed up further and further. She wanted to fight, to scream, to do something but she was still in a daze and couldn't do any of it._

" _This is the least you can do for me after what you've put me through this week."_

 _Dylan then moved his hand from her stomach to her breasts. Emily squirmed to get away but it was impossible. His weigh was keeping her down and her already battered body wasn't as strong and cooperating as it usually was._

 _She had just come to the realisation that her easiest chance of getting out of this was to alert someone that something was wrong. She had just gathered up the strength to do so when Dylan pressed his lips against hers. Emily's cry for help became a muffled sound of disgust._

 _His hand then went back to her stomach and before she knew it, he was working on the single button of her pants._

" _Prentiss."_

" _Emily."_

" _Emily!"_

Emily flinched and blinked rapidly. As she did the person standing in front of her came into focus.

"Are you okay?" Rossi asked as he carefully reached out for her arm.

Before she had the time to stop herself she jumped back from his touch.

 _Crap!_ That was a very clear sign that she wasn't okay. She needed to at least try to convince him that she was okay. She didn't trust her voice, he would hear the emotions she was trying so hard to suppress, so she nodded her yes. The panic she had felt back then had returned with the flashbacks and to her it had been almost as real as when the ordeal had actually taken place.

The way Rossi was looking at her spoke volumes. He had seen the way she flinched when he reached out for her and he didn't believe her for a second when she nodded that she was okay.

"Emily, are you sure? You look pale."

Emily made an attempt to collect herself before she dared to speak. "I'm okay," she said with a slight crack in her voice.

Rossi knew it would be too soon for her to go inside, that was why he had told her to wait in the car. Flashbacks were common after a traumatic event and he had recognised the tensed shoulders and the glossy eyes they often brought with them. He had hoped to be able to clean up the place before she returned to hopefully minimise the ones he guessed she would have. He couldn't do much about it now though, except to get her out of there as quick as possible.

"Let's go," Rossi said and guided Emily out the door by carefully placing a hand in the small of her back. This time she didn't move away but he felt her tense at first before she relaxed some.

He guessed she was most likely still processing the flashbacks and the memories of the assault because when she walked it was as if she did it in some kind of trance. She put one foot in front of the other but she let him decide the pace and the direction.

They reached the car and got inside. Rossi placed the bag in the back seat and before he started the car he glanced at Emily. Thankfully some of her colour had returned and her body language signalled that her control was back, and so were the walls shielding her true feelings from the eyes of the rest of the world. He sighed mentally, looked back at the road and started the car.

It wasn't until five minutes later that Emily first spoke.

"Where are we going?"

"To my house. And before you start to argue, I'm not letting you stay at a hotel. I told you, you're stuck with me for the next couple of days."

Emily swallowed the words she had on the tip of her tongue about how he should drop her off at a hotel.

"What about Sergio?" Emily questioned as she realised he also didn't have a place to live at the moment. She also began beating herself up for not thinking about him earlier. Three days and she hadn't asked about him.

"He's in good hands. Garcia took him in as soon as she could." Rossi paused to look briefly at Emily. "She and Morgan thought it was better for him to stay in a place he is familiar with."

Emily nodded slowly. It was better. But for some reason she really missed him, more than she had done before. Well, not as much as she had during her time in Paris but ever since her return she had gotten used to having him at her side and now it felt empty without him.

"How long before I can go home?" she asked as she looked out the window. The brunette already felt like a burden, she didn't want for Rossi to take her in. She would have been fine on her own in a hotel.

"You're assuming I'm that bad company?"

Emily turned away from the window to face him. "I already know you are," she retorted and gave him a small smile.

The older agent chuckled. "We'll see about that. But I think maybe two more days before they're done with your place."

Emily nodded and then returned to staring at the moving city outside her window.

* * *

Three traffic lights, four car queues and more turns than Emily could count later, they had arrived.

"Home, sweet home," Rossi said as he stepped out of the car. Emily quickly followed and soon they were both standing outside his mansion.

Before Emily had the time to, Rossi had opened the door to the back seat and picked up her bag.

"Give me that," Emily said.

"No, I'll take it."

Emily sent him an irritated look. "I can carry a bag."

"If you insist," Rossi sighed and handed her the bag full of clothes and other stuff that might come in handy.

Together they walked up to the porch. As they stopped in front of the door, Emily could hear a dog barking from behind it. The next moment the door was wide open and the dog rushed outside to greet them. He gave Rossi a quick welcome before he began investigating who the woman his owner had brought was.

Emily smiled at the dog and patted his head as he kept moving around her in circles, constantly sniffing.

"Come on, Mudgie," Rossi urged and signalled to his dog. "You can get to know Emily later, now we need to show her to her room."

Rossi waved for her to follow him and so she did. The room she entered first was the great hallway. Paintings covered the oak walls and to her right was a staircase leading up to the second floor.

Rossi and the dog began walking up the stairs and Emily followed a few steps behind. She was still walking a little bit slow and for understandable reasons the ascending of the stairs was more exhausting than usual, especially with the bag she had insisted on carrying but she was not about to give it back.

When they had reached the second floor, the duo in front of her took off to their left and then walked down a rather wide corridor until they reached an open door. There they stopped.

Emily walked up to the two and dropped her bag next to her feet. She looked inside the room and immediately developed a liking for it. The walls were painted in a beige colour and the single bed was covered by a bedspread decorated with blue flowers. On top of the bedspread were white pillows thrown randomly at the top of the bed. The nightstand held a lamp, a green plant and an alarm clock. The wardrobe was an old french style one but it had been painted white to fit better with the rest of the room. The floor was in dark wood and in the middle of the room a beige carpet lay.

"It's beautiful," Emily said in admiration.

"Thank you," Rossi replied. "But unfortunately I can't take the credit for it, I wasn't the one to design it."

"Then who was?" Emily questioned and turned her gaze to him.

"One of my ex-wives," he smirked.

"She sure knew how to make it cozy."

Rossi nodded as he looked around the room. "So... I'll let you settle in while I go and prepare dinner."

Rossi and Mudgie left and Emily bent down and picked up the bag with some effort. She then walked inside the room, put the bag next to the wardrobe and went to sit on the edge of the bed. It was actually very comfortable, although she still would have preferred her own. Rossi had told her two days, then she would be back in her own bed.

She mentally prepared herself to get up and after a while she did. It felt unnecessary to unpack her bag so she opened the wardrobe, twisting the key to the side, and placed it inside, the clothes still in it.

Then something cold against her bandaged hand startled her more than it should have as she closed the door and she had to suffocate the small yelp of surprise. She pulled her hand away from whatever had touched it and looked down. Standing next to her was Mudgie. Emily sighed in relief, it was only his wet nose she had felt against her hand. She immediately felt silly for reacting the way she did.

"I'm sorry," she said and placed her gauze covered hand on his head. The dog softly bumped against her leg and Emily considered herself forgiven.

She spent some quiet time with the dog before Rossi interrupted them by shouting out from the kitchen that dinner was ready. Emily gave the dog one last pat before she started her journey to the kitchen, which she vaguely remembered the way to from her earlier visits.

"I see you still remember how to get around here, Kiddo," Rossi said as she entered the kitchen.

"Your place is a maze," she said as she sat down on the chair he had pulled out for her by the table.

"That's one way of putting it," he chuckled as he sat down opposite her. "Help yourself!"

Emily reached for the bowl of pasta. "This looks delicious," she commented while she put some on her plate. Her appetite had returned the moment she entered the kitchen.

"This I can take the credit for. None of my exes were used to being in the kitchen," Rossi said, remembering their earlier conversation.

Emily smiled at him as she added pasta sauce to her plate.

"Salad?"

"Thanks," Emily said and accepted the bowl Rossi held out for her.

* * *

Rossi shot up in his bed and threw off the cover. There was no doubt that the strangled cry that had awoken him had come from Emily.

He rushed along the corridor to her room with Mudgie right behind him, the dog had also woken at the sound of the scream and now he was tagging along to find out what had his owner hurrying down the hall in the middle of the night dressed in pajamas.

Rossi quickly opened the door and immediately spotted Emily twisting and turning in her bed. She was thrashing around and the almost pleading whining that came from her pained Rossi.

He quickly took the steps to the bed. She was still asleep and she was still very much stuck in the nightmare that had caused her to scream out earlier. Rossi reached out but stopped himself from touching her suspecting he might just make it worst by doing so, instead he called for her to wake up.

He had to call out her name a bunch of times and when her eyes finally opened they were filled with terror. When she saw a shadow crouching next to her bed she flinched and pushed herself against the headboard as far as she could.

"Emily, it's just me," Rossi soothed. He could hear her rapid and shallow breathing and he could see her chest rising with it. And even though it was dark and he couldn't see clearly, he had no trouble seeing that she was drenched in a cold sweat.

He carefully reached out as he saw recognition in her eyes and only then did he dare to place a gentle hand on her leg, which were still drawn up and pressed to her stomach. "You were having a nightmare."

"I'm sorry," Emily mumbled in a shaky voice and turned her head down in shame. After her time in Paris she had also experienced some nightmares but then she had been the only one to suffer from it. Now she was having them again, but this time they were affecting Rossi too. She knew she would be having them for a long time, it usually took a while for them to kick in but when they did they stuck around for a long time. That was why she always made sure that no one knew.

"Don't apologise," Rossi said. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," Emily assured him as she tucked some hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Don't worry about that. Do you want to talk about it?"

Emily shook her head. "No, go back to sleep."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay then." He knew pushing her would only result in no good. "Good night," he said and gave her leg one last squeeze before he stood. He walked to the door and when he reached it, he stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. He did leave a small crack open though. Then he waited until he saw Emily rearranging her pillow before pulling the duvet over her body. He waited just a second longer and gave the brunette one last concerned look before walking back to his own bed.

Mudgie decided to stay though. He turned around in circles in front of the door before he nudged it open and walked inside. There he lay down, resting his head on his paws. He stayed there throughout the night, guarding the door leading to the room currently occupied by the troubled agent.

* * *

 _A/N: That's all for now. Please let me know what you think, good or bad._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait, I kind of lost my motivation but I think it's finally back. I hope you readers are still with me and that you will enjoy this chapter._

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

She spent the next two days with Rossi, who had used some of his many vacation days to be able to spend them with her. The time at his place had been pretty uneventful. They had taken walks to rebuild some of her strength. During those walks both Emily and Rossi had been armed, to others they had appeared like two people enjoying a peaceful walk but looks could deceive. As they strolled in the park, their eyes constantly scanned the area for hidden threats and if someone happened to be following them a little too long for their liking, they entered the first small trail they could find to see if the person would follow, but no one ever did.

Emily was feeling better for each day passing. Her ribs were still a pain in the ass but there was nothing she could do about it. The doctor had said it could take up to two months before they had healed fully and she hadn't mentioned anything Emily could do to speed up the process.

Most of her bruises had faded and the swelling on the back of her head had gone down. Her hand was still bandaged but she found herself able to use it more without it hurting too much.

Hotch dropped by to tell her that they had filed for a restraining order in hopes that it would keep Dylan away, though Emily knew he didn't believe his own words. Both knew that a restraining order would do nothing in stopping Dylan from seeing her if that was what he wanted. He also gave her a file containing information about the case so that she knew how it was progressing.

After he left she instantly began reading it. She agreed with JJ and Reid's conclusion that the friend's cheating girlfriend must have been what triggered Dylan's violent and obsessive behaviour. During their time dating, Emily had seen nothing of that.

She also got her phone back the next day while she was visiting Garcia to spend some time with her missed cat. The team handling the investigation had finished with it and saw no problem in giving it back to her, which Emily was thankful for. She didn't feel like buying a new one just because her old one had ended up among the evidence in an ongoing investigation.

While she was visiting her cat Emily found herself wishing things to go back to normal. She was tired of imposing on her friends and she wanted to be back in her own home where the only person she would wake up while having a bad dream was herself.

Her wish was granted the next morning when the lead detective called Rossi to tell him that they had finished with her place. They had collected all the evidence they needed and the agent was free to move back home.

Emily's mood immediately brightened at the news, even though she enjoyed staying with Rossi she looked forward to going home. Rossi decided on driving her back home that same day. He didn't want to leave her alone just yet considering the threat of Dylan returning but he also knew that Hotch had officially put Morgan on medical leave for the next few days which meant that he could convince the dark agent to stay with her, not that he thought he needed any convincing. Morgan had called everyday to check up on Emily and he even dropped by once after she had finished her visit over at Garcia's.

They decided to leave after lunch. One thing Emily would surely miss, except for the man himself, was Rossi's cooking. During her days spent with him he had refused to let her anywhere near the stoves. Instead he had done it all by himself, he did allow her to chop some of the salad once though but that was just because she was nagging him about it. She argued that she could at least help him with the food since he was so kind to let her stay there, or else she would be heading to the nearest hotel.

They stopped briefly at Garcia's to pick up Sergio on their way to her house. They drove by one green light after the other and somehow they also managed to end up on all the less trafficked streets.

This time entering her home wasn't as traumatic as the last. Rossi had given her the keys to her new lock once they had stepped out of the car. The thing Emily noticed first when entering was that someone had cleaned up since the attack. She guessed that that someone was Garcia, ever the caretaker. She made a mental note to thank her later.

Rossi stayed for coffee and after an hour and a half he somewhat reluctantly left after having checked that the patrol car was parked outside the building.

After Sergio had finished his inspection of the house, he joined Emily on the couch, curling up next to her while she was flipping open a worn book that during the years had been put through the most.

* * *

Emily put down the book she had been reading next to her on the couch and went to open the door, but not before looking through the peep hole to see who it was. She had been home for no more than two hours and it didn't surprise her when she saw her partner standing on the other side with a small bag swung over his shoulder.

"Who sent you?" Emily asked as she opened the door. She held it open so that it blocked his way into her home.

"No one," Morgan replied. "You're not happy to see me?"

"I don't need a babysitter."

"I prefer bodyguard," Morgan smiled.

"I can take care of myself," Emily sighed.

"Then consider me backup."

Emily let out a loud breath, stepped aside and opened the door wider to let him in. As he had entered she closed the door behind him.

"So, what's keeping you busy?" Morgan asked as he spun around to look at her.

Emily walked to the couch and picked up the paperback she had put down earlier. "A book."

"Let me see." Even though he didn't read as much as Emily and Reid, he still liked to relax with a good book once in a while.

Emily took the few steps separating them and handed him the book.

"Mother Night," Morgan remarked with a smile. "Vonnegut."

Emily nodded. "It's a re-read."

"We are what we pretend to be..."

Emily smiled at him and continued the quote. "... so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."

The quote brought back memories from the time they had said that same line a few years ago. It had been the first time she had told Morgan about her love for Vonnegut's books while discussing why she had screwed up a date.

"It's hard to get enough of this stuff," Morgan said and handed the book back to her with a smile, also remembering that time.

"Yeah," Emily agreed and put the book back down on the couch. Seconds later Sergio, who had left his previous spot to go fill his stomach, returned and jumped up on the couch. He then walked in a circle until he at last came to rest next to the book.

"So, what did you have in mind when coming over here?" Emily asked Morgan.

"I was thinking either a movie night or a rematch in chess."

"You know I'll beat you," Emily smirked. "Again."

Morgan chuckled. "Don't think so highly of yourself, Princess. I've had Reid teach me some new moves."

"Then bring it on," Emily said, never the one to back down from a challenge.

* * *

An hour later Morgan had won once and Emily twice.

"Fine," Morgan sighed and raised his hands in defeat. "I give up."

"I told you I'd beat you," Emily smiled.

"Rub it in, just rub it in," Morgan said while the corners of his mouth turned upwards. "How about the loser pays for dinner?"

Emily began packing up the chessboard. "Sounds good to me."

"Chinese?"

"How about Thai?" Emily suggested.

"Sure, haven't had that in a while," Morgan replied and began dialling the number to the restaurant using his phone.

Emily left the room to put the chessboard back in the living room. When she returned to the kitchen Morgan had finished ordering their food.

"Kitchen or living room?" Emily questioned as she reached for two glasses, ignoring the pain it brought to her body.

"Living room with a movie?" Morgan suggested.

Emily nodded. "You pick one."

Her partner walked into the room, accidentally bumping against the couch and earning an angry glare from Sergio as he was interrupted in his sleep.

"Sorry, man," Morgan apologised to the dark spot on the sofa cushion as he caught a sight of the cat's glare.

He walked up to Emily's collection of DVDs and began scanning the shelves for something that seemed appealing. After spending a few minutes in front of it, he settled on _Batman Begins._

Emily had been in the room briefly during his examination of the movie collection to place the two glasses on the coffee table but soon left it again to answer the door. The delivery had been unusually quick, maybe it was because it was a Wednesday night and therefore a rather slow day in business.

Morgan had handed her the money earlier and now he heard her pay for their food before closing the door. He was putting on the DVD as she walked back into the room.

"What did you pick?" she asked as she took a seat in the couch after having placed the bag containing the food on the table.

"Batman Begins," Morgan replied as he rose from his squat and went to sit next to her.

The black cat on the third cushion made a disapproving sound as both agents got settled.

"Talk about being grumpy," Emily commented her four legged friend.

"Guess he thinks I'm imposing now that he has finally got you alone," Morgan joked.

Emily smiled at him. "Probably."

They emptied the bag of their food and placed it on the table. They then grabbed a box each and leaned back as Emily handled the remote. A few moments later the movie began.

"I haven't seen this in at least two years," Emily said in between bites of her food.

"Me either, maybe even three," Morgan replied. "That's why I picked it."

"Good choice," Emily said and lifted her feet up on the table.

Morgan raised his eyebrows at his partner. "What?" she asked.

"Do you usually keep your feet on the table or is it just you behaving because I'm here?"

"You always manage to bring out the best in me," Emily winked and the teasing glint in her eyes didn't go unnoticed by her partner.

"Keep your eyes trained on the TV, Smart-ass," he laughed. "You're missing the good parts."

Emily smirked. "I don't think I'm missing out on anything," Emily said, keeping her eyes on Morgan, continuing their usual, meaningless flirting.

Morgan chuckled. "It's your choice but don't expect me to explain the plot to you when you decide to start paying attention again."

Emily kept smiling as she turned to look at the TV, knowing exactly what had happened even though she hadn't been watching.

* * *

A little over two hours later the credits had started to fill the screen. The two agents sitting on the couch had during the movie sunk further into it and now they both felt the need to stretch their bodies.

A few cracks could be heard from Morgan as he twisted his body sideways while Emily yawned as she tried to make herself feel less like a sack of potatoes.

"Tired?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah."

"Me too," he replied as he rose and took a few steps to stretch his legs.

"Are you driving home?" Emily asked as she began collecting the trash and put it in the bag the food had been delivered in.

"I'm not planning on leaving."

Emily stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. "Excuse me?"

"Come on, Emily. Did you really think I would let you stay here all alone when we still don't know where Dylan is?"

"I told you I can take care of myself," she replied and put her hands on her hips in a stubborn gesture. She didn't like being treated like she couldn't handle a single thing on her own just because Dylan had managed to ambush her once.

"It's either me or Hotch will put an Officer outside your door."

Emily glared at him. She didn't like that they thought she needed protection but she rather have Morgan here than some stranger guarding her door. "Fine," she sighed. "You'll have to take the couch. It's a pull-out."

"Works for me," Morgan said, relieved that she had decided not to fight him on this. He would feel much better being there himself than letting someone outside the team protect her. Rossi had done it for the previous two days and now it was his turn.

As Emily walked into the kitchen to throw away the bag filled with trash, Morgan picked up the two glasses and went to join her.

Once in the kitchen he washed them quickly before placing them in the dishwasher.

"If you move the coffee table, I'll go and fetch some clean sheets for you," Emily said.

"Consider it done," Morgan replied and instantly went into the room and moved the table with ease. He had just formed a plan of how he would move the sleeping cat from the couch when Emily returned with the sheets and a pillow.

"Hold these," she told him and handed the pile she had in her arms to him. She then went for the cat.

"Hey, Buddy." The cat looked up at his owner and purred as she stroke his head. "Time to move," she told him and gently picked him up. Apparently the cat thought her arms where as good of a place to sleep as the couch because he showed no sign in wanting to leave them when she had moved him.

"Hang on a minute," she told Morgan before she walked out of the room only to return a moment later without the cat.

"Where did you put him?" Morgan questioned.

"My bed."

"You let your cat sleep in your bed but you're letting me crash on the couch?" he said and faked feeling hurt.

"You gotta keep your priorities straight," Emily retorted.

"Oouch!" Morgan smiled and pretended to slap his own cheek.

Emily simply laughed at him. "Let's get this thing ready for you, Big Guy," she said and reached for the handle.

Morgan immediately moved in to help and soon they had finished making the bed. Emily had shown some difficultly in doing so since her ribs and shoulder was still bothering her but she had refused to let Morgan do it alone.

"You got a toothbrush?" Emily asked as she threw the pillow onto the bed.

"I got everything I need," Morgan replied and pointed at the bag he had dropped next to the couch when he first came over.

"Good. You know the way to the bathroom so I'll just leave you to it. There are clean towels in the cabinet next to the shower."

"Got it," Morgan nodded. "Good night, Emily."

"Good night, Derek."

Emily turned around and left Morgan to get ready for bed. When she entered her bedroom on her way to the second bathroom, Sergio meowed at her. She stopped next to the bed and patted him before continuing her journey.

When she had finished in there she crawled into bed dressed in shorts and a tank top. D.C. was beginning to warm up during the days and the heat seemed to stay during the nights, the temperature only dropping a few degrees.

She made herself comfortable under the covers and then said a last good night to her bedmate before she relaxed and sent a silent wish to whomever willing to listen to her that she would be spared from the nightmares that night.

* * *

The next morning Emily woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. Her stomach rumbled and she wondered how the hell food could be cooking in her kitchen before she remembered that Morgan had stayed over last night.

She eased herself out of bed, only experiencing some pain in her ribs as she did. She was starting to remember which positions that hurt the most.

The cat that had fallen asleep next to her last night had already left the bed and Emily suspected that he was in the kitchen, begging for some of the food Morgan was cooking.

Emily put on her robe and walked into the kitchen on bare feet.

"If this is what I get for letting you stay over then I might consider inviting you more often."

Morgan spun around and away from the stove when he heard her voice. "Morning, Sunshine," he greeted her and put on one of his most charming smiles. Emily thought he looked very domestic standing there in front of the stove dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt. Beside him stood Sergio, begging for a bite like she had guessed. Morgan ignored him like Emily had asked him to do the last time the cat did the same thing.

"Morning," she replied with a smile of her own. And then her stomach decided to say hello too.

Morgan chuckled at the rumbling sound her stomach greeted him with. "I hear someone is hungry."

"That's one way of putting it," Emily said and glanced at the bacon in the pan.

"It will be done in a few minutes," Morgan assured her and turned back to the stove to flip the bacon.

Emily prepared coffee for Morgan and set the table as she waited for the breakfast. She chose orange juice for herself but also put an extra glass next to Morgan's cup so that he could have some of both if he felt like it. She had just placed the last fork on the table when her partner came over with a plate of bacon and a bowl of scrambled eggs.

Emily went to fetch the coffee and poured him a cup before she sat down. They both began filling their plates at the same time, one starting with the bacon and the other beginning with the eggs.

They ate eagerly while filling the silence with some small talk. Emily helped herself to a second portion after her plate became empty. Morgan followed her example and forty minutes later they leaned back in their seats with satisfied stomachs.

"Best breakfast I've had in a long time," Emily said and then emptied her glass of the remaining juice.

"Glad it tasted well," Morgan replied.

The calm that had settled over them vanished as Emily phone rang loudly. She groaned, she didn't want to leave her seat. Reluctantly she rose from her chair, found her phone and answered the call.

" _Good morning my Troublesome Profiler,"_ Garcia's voice echoed through the phone.

"Morning, Pen," Emily replied.

" _How are you today?"_

"I'm good. Morgan just made me the best breakfast I've had in ages."

" _My hunk's there with you? I'm so jealous!"_

Emily laughed. "Yeah, he came over last night and refused to leave so I put him on the couch."

" _Great! Then what I have in mind will be even more fun!"_ the technical analyst squealed.

Emily knew from experience that a surprise that Garcia had planned could end in success or a total disaster, thankfully the first alternative was the most common one.

"Garcia, what are you planning?" Emily asked, half fearing the answer.

" _Oh, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"_

"Penelope..." Emily groaned.

" _See you later!"_ Garcia perked and hung up.

Emily stared at the screen of her phone, shaking her head at her friend. She then put it back down on the counter and went back to fill Morgan in on their plans for the day.

"Garcia just called to say that whatever wicked surprise she has in mind will be even more fun with you here."

The profiler raised his eyebrows. "And what does she have in mind?"

"No idea."

"Then I guess we'll just have to wait to find out."

* * *

Emily's doorbell rang at a quarter to twelve and when she opened the door she was met by Garcia's bright face.

"Hi, Pumpkin!" Garcia greeted her with a huge, careful hug.

"Hi, Pen," Emily smiled and hugged her back. "Aren't you suppose to be at work?"

"Nah, I figured I could work from here if necessary while hanging out with my injured Superheroes," Garcia quipped. "They don't call me the Queen of Multitasking for no reason."

Emily laughed slightly. "Come inside then."

She picked up her purse and two plastic bags from the ground outside Emily's door before she walked into the hallway where she bent down to pat the black ball of fur that came to greet her.

"Hey, Baby Girl!"

Garcia gave the cat one last stroke before she stood up and walked into Morgan's open arms. "Hey yourself," she replied as she squeezed him.

"What's in the bags?" Emily asked as she looked at the bags Garcia had placed on the floor to be able to hug the male profiler properly.

"Groceries!"

Emily looked at Morgan with an amused smile, one that he returned. Not a lot of people could talk about something so normal and boring with so much enthusiasm as Garcia.

"What for?" Morgan asked her.

"To make food, of course," Garcia replied and looked between the two. "I have enough stuff in there to prepare a three course meal, which is exactly what we'll do."

So this was what Garcia had planned as a surprise, they were going to spend the whole day altering between the kitchen and the dining table.

"I'm thinking we'll do an almond chicken salad with feta cheese for lunch and then barbecued ribs for dinner, because you do have grill, right?" Emily had but she never got the chance to say so because Garcia didn't wait for an answer before she continued talking. "And we could combine that with some oven fried potatoes and maybe we should add some carrots." She stopped briefly to take a breath. "And let's not forget about dessert, brownies made with rich chocolate is what I have in mind. How does that sound?"

Both Emily and Morgan stared at her in silence.

"Sounds like you got it covered," Emily replied after a while.

"Great! Then let's get to it!" Garcia quipped and carried the bags to the kitchen.

"Come on, Prentiss," Morgan said and carefully flung his arm around her shoulders knowing her bad one was still bothering her. "I've always wanted to see you manning the kitchen."

Emily snorted at this as she was lead to the kitchen by her partner.

"Emily, I was thinking you could start on the salad while Derek takes care of the sugar snaps I bought and I'll start with the chicken."

She handed the partners a knife and a chopping board each. Then she gave them the ingredients she had decided on.

"This is going to be so much fun!" she exclaimed and clapped her hands in excitement.

Though it was a rather unusual way for Emily and Morgan to spend a Thursday afternoon, they both looked forward to spending it in the kitchen with their bubbly friend, not thinking about the problem of Dylan for the whole night.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: There is no good excuse for not updating this for almost four months and I'm sorry for that. I hope I haven't lost too many readers and that the return of a special someone can make up for some of it._

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

Emily slowly passed the high shelves, pushing the cart in front of her while searching for some cereal. Earlier that day, she had opened her fridge to get something to eat and realised that mouldy cheese and green orange juice were her only options, a realisation that had resulted in an unplanned visit to the store.

Since the team had insisted on either bringing her food or cooking for her since she got back home, she hadn't reflected over her fridge's horrible condition until she was left alone fending for herself.

The team had been called out on a case late last night and her suggestion that she would tag along as consult had been rejected by Hotch the second she mentioned it. They had all been reluctant to leave since there had been no progress in the case against Dylan and once they started discussing if one of them should take out some vacation time to stay with her, she had had enough.

It had been almost two weeks since the attack and Emily refused to let the possibility of Dylan showing up decide how to live her life. She was sick of other people limiting her and she had told Hotch she was perfectly fine and safe with the one officer already placed outside her home. He hadn't been happy about it, but at least he had agreed that the rest of the team would be required for this new case.

So there she was, shopping in an almost deserted store, slowly pushing her cart as she passed the shelves. Once in a while she stopped to add something to her growing pile of groceries.

She had just found the cereal she was looking for and placed them in her cart when a voice coming from behind startled her.

"Agent Prentiss? Or I mean, Emily?"

She recognised that voice. She hadn't heard it for a while but she was pretty sure she knew who it belonged to.

She turned around and there he was, a few shelves down holding a pack of flour in his hand and a plastic bag in the other.

"Josh?" Emily said in disbelief.

The man put the flour in his bag as he walked towards her. "I thought it was you," he smiled as he neared her.

Emily smiled back. "It's nice to see you, but if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"

"We moved here a week ago," he replied. "We live a few blocks from here."

Only then did she remember the move he had been talking about last time they saw each other. "Oh, that's right. You were moving."

Emily guessed he was trying to avoid looking at the almost healed cut on her cheek and her still bandaged hand but she caught him glancing suspiciously at both.

"Yeah, we're still settling in."

"Well, how do you like D.C. then?"

"It has it's advantages," he said and held her gaze.

For a moment, Emily found herself lost in those beautiful blue eyes but she was abruptly brought back by him asking her another question.

"Would you like to grab a cup of coffee?"

"Uhm," Emily mumbled and looked down at the groceries in her cart.

"I got a cooler in the back of my car," Josh said as he saw what she was looking at. "You can put them there if you'd like."

Emily looked up and smiled at him. "Then yes, coffee sounds good."

* * *

They found a small café within walking distance of the store's parking lot, which Emily had visited a few times, before and had just received their orders. Two cups of steaming black coffee were placed on the table they were seated at.

Emily, taking notice of the officer assigned to her taking a seat a few tables down, used her non bandaged hand to lift the cup to her lips and took a careful sip after having blown at the beverage.

It was midday and soon the café would be filled with lunch customers but as of now, it was only them and three other guests in there.

Josh imitated Emily and took a sip of his own coffee and grimaced as he burned himself on it.

"They always make it too hot," Emily commented.

"Yeah, and I always forget they do," he answered as he put the cup down on the table.

Emily smiled at him. "How's Danny?"

Josh's face turned into one huge smile upon her mentioning his son. "He's good. He's doing much better. Sleeps in his own bed most of the time and the nightmares aren't as many as before."

"That's good," Emily replied happily. "How about when you're outside? Does he still stay close to you?" she asked, remembering their latest conversation about the boy.

"Not as much as before. We've been at the playground a few times and there he was running around on his own but he always makes sure he can still see me."

Emily nodded and lifted her cup to take another sip. Thankfully, the drink had cooled off a bit now and she was able to enjoy the taste. She had ordered decaf so it wasn't as good as regular black coffee but at least it tasted well.

"How about you then?" she asked.

"I'm good, too," he said. "It's a lot of new things to take in but I think I'm doing okay. The GPS is currently my best friend whenever I'm going somewhere," he chuckled and Emily joined in.

"How are you then?" he questioned. "You look..."

"Like crap?" Emily suggested. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

"I wouldn't put it like that..."

She knew she looked like crap. She had spent at least half an hour applying make up because her colourful bruises refused to be covered by the concealer and foundation. She had dark circles under her eyes from constantly waking up at night due to either having twisted herself into some weird position which made her body ache, or it was the nightmares about Dylan that woke her.

At the hospital, she had been too drugged to take any notice of that, but now her subconscious took pleasure in torturing her at night. She only hoped that the nightmares would haunt her less frequently as the time passed.

"If you don't mind me asking," Josh said and scratched his jaw. "What happened to your hand? And your face?" he nodded towards her still healing cut. "You didn't have those injuries last time I saw you."

Emily took a breath and sighed. "I came across some... trouble."

"When?" Josh dared to ask. He was afraid he was pushing the limits, not knowing if him asking would make it worse or better.

"When I got home from the case."

"After I talked to you?"

"Yeah, I sort of got ambushed when I walked inside," Emily said as she stared at her cup.

She had refused to talk about what had happened. She had given her statement, answered the questions and then she hadn't said a word to anyone. Hotch had reminded her that it was mandatory for her to get a psychological exam, which meant she had to spill her guts to a shrink, before she could return to active duty and she would.

She knew she should talk about it with someone but she didn't feel like the team was an option, not now at least when everything was still very raw. She knew her team would never think any less of her if she talked about it with them, but she also felt that they would, without intending to, analyse what she was saying and how she was saying it and so on. And right now she didn't need that. If she was to talk about what had happened, she wanted to do it without feeling like she was a victim from one of their cases.

Maybe talking to Josh was a good idea. For some reason she felt like she could talk to him without being judged. And she wouldn't have to work with him everyday, feeling like her daily mental status was being monitored.

"Do you know by who?" he asked carefully, afraid he might invade her personal space too much by doing so.

She decided that she could at least try to talk to him about it. He hadn't overreacted like Penelope usually did and he hadn't started searching for the closest wall to hit like Morgan would have. His reaction reminded her of JJ's, she always managed to stay collected and calm.

"Yeah," Emily replied and smiled sarcastically. "My ex."

Since she answered his last question he decided it was okay to ask another. "Have they caught him?"

"No, not yet. It's like he disappeared into thin air," she sighed and rubbed her tired eyes.

The part of his reaction she didn't notice was the clenching and unclenching of his hands that rested in his lap. The feelings he had felt for the agent before hadn't disappeared and the thought of someone hurting her enraged him. "Is your team working on it?"

Emily shook her head. "Officially no, 'personal involvement' they like to call it. Another team is handling it. But unofficially, yes."

 _Good,_ Josh thought. They seemed to be the best. At least they had succeeded in finding his son in time and thereby saving him from a horrible death. "They'll find him. Either your team does or the others will," Josh tried to comfort her.

"Yeah, they will," Emily repeated, not sure of how much she believed it. She reached for her cup and took another drink. "How's the move going then?"

Josh took the hint and let the subject drop.

"It's a lot of work. We've been unpacking boxes for what feels like a decade."

"I told you that you to call if you needed any help settling in," she reminded him. "And that involves unpacking boxes."

"Your hand looks like it might not be up for it," he remarked and nodded at her bandaged hand.

"It's fine," Emily said and moved it around a little to convince him that it wasn't as bad as it looked.

"Really? Then why the bandage?" He raised his eyebrows as he asked.

"Precaution so that it won't turn worse again," she shrugged.

Josh's lips turned slightly upward. "If you say so. Then maybe you could swing by this weekend to help me with the last ones?"

"It would be a pleasure."

"Great. Danny will be thrilled. He's been asking about you a lot recently."

The thought of the small boy brought a loving smile to her face. "I look forward to meeting him again."

* * *

Two hours later they left the parking lot in separate cars and Emily wondered how much of her groceries had gone bad during that time, despite the cooler.

The drive to her home went smooth and she only ended up in two minor traffic jams. She parked the car next to the sidewalk and took both plastic bags in her right hand while searching for her keys with the left.

She unlocked the door and was on the look out for another one of Sergio's constant escape attempts. When the black ball of fur bolted for the door she managed to use her foot to block him. Realising today was not the day, he turned around and walked back to the couch with his tail swaying from side to side in irritation.

Emily put her bags down on the kitchen island and opened the fridge. She then began filling it with what she had bought and tossing away the little she had before. From the looks of it, nothing had gone bad.

It took a while but when she was done, she was satisfied with her little field trip. She rewarded herself by making a grilled cheese that she brought with her to the couch where she sat down next to Sergio. He started to purr as soon as her hand met his head.

Emily reached from the remote and flicked the TV on. After zapping between different channels without finding anything that caught her interest, she turned the TV off and went to fetch one of her books placed on the nightstand in her bedroom.

* * *

After his meeting with Emily, Josh drove home and unpacked his groceries. He then made an attempt at emptying one of the many boxes but before he had made it halfway, he realised it was time to pick up Danny.

The preschool was located nearby so Josh decided to make the fifteen minute walk there instead of driving.

He had barely stepped inside before his son was embracing him in a hug.

"Hey, Buddy," Josh said and lifted up his son. "How was today?"

"Good!" Danny answered. "I made a new friend."

"That's great! What's this friend's name?"

"Julia," Danny answered and pointed at a dark haired girl that was getting help putting her jacket on by who Josh assumed must be her mother. "She's a year older than me."

"And how old is that?" Josh asked, taking every chance he got at teaching his son how to count.

"This old," Danny replied and held his hand to his father's face, really spreading his fingers.

"Five?" Josh asked.

"Mhmm," Danny nodded.

"Then how old are you?"

Danny looked at his father. "I'm four! You know that."

Josh chuckled. "Yes, I know. I was just testing to see if you did."

Danny looked at him as he was trying to decide whether he was lying or not. "I'm this old," he then said and held up four fingers for his father to see.

Josh smiled. "You are four years old," he agreed.

"Yes," Danny nodded and looked pleased with himself for teaching his father how old he was.

Josh chuckled at his son's proud expression. "Let's get your things. I have something to tell you."

"Okay," Danny replied and started running with his small legs long before Josh had put him down on the floor.

* * *

Danny had held his hand all the way home. During their walk, he had asked his father a bunch of questions such as what was written on the signs they passed and why the trees looked different here than from the ones in Utah. Josh had happily answered all his questions as he walked alongside his son.

When they had reached their new home, a small single story house with a garden, they stepped inside and Josh immediately started preparing sandwiches for Danny.

While his father was in the kitchen, Danny was saying hello to Bear after having been gone all day. He clutched the bear under his arm and walked around in his room, still exploring the parts of his new space.

The bed was placed in the corner and above the bed a few drawings decorated the wall. Among them was the picture he had drawn of himself, Emily and his dad, all of them wearing big smiles.

He had a small table with four chairs placed on each side of it in the other corner of the room. Since moving in, it had become his colouring place.

He then heard his dad call for him and did something of a mixture between jogging and walking as he moved to the table. He still had the teddy bear clutched to his chest.

Josh didn't allow Danny to have Bear sitting in his lap as he ate so the boy placed him on the chair closest to him. He made sure the bear's head was above the table and then dragged the chair closer to the table. The whole thing ended with Bear looking like he was about to be decapitated but Danny was happy with it so he started eating his meal.

"Remember I said I have something to tell you?" Josh asked as he watched Danny taking a giant bite of his food.

The boy nodded.

"Guess who's coming over this weekend to help us unpack the last boxes?"

Danny's face lit up and he quickly swallowed so that he could speak. _'Don't talk with your mouth full,'_ his father used to tell him. "Tommy?"

The smile on Josh's face faded a little as he was reminded of how much his little boy must be missing his friends back in Utah. "No, not him. Sorry, Bud."

He watched the excitement disappeared from Danny's face. "Then who?"

"Agent Prentiss!" Josh revealed and tried to cheer up his son's dull mood.

Danny's face turned into a frown as he tried to put a face to the name. "Who?" he asked again after failing to come up with one.

"Emily."

"Em'ly!" Danny squealed and the smile was back.

"That's right! Emily is coming over to help us."

"I like her," Danny grinned and bounced on his chair in excitement.

"I know you do, so do I," Josh said with a broad smile.

* * *

Emily woke up screaming as she shot up in bed. The nightmare had been bad enough but what made it worse was the dark silhouette standing a few feet away from her. _There was someone in her room!_ With a racing heart she fumbled in the dark for the gun placed on her bedside table, turning away from the shadow while her instincts screamed at her not to. Once she turned back to where she had seen the human shaped silhouette, it was gone.

With trembling hands she threw off the covers and got out of bed. The air in her room seemed cool compared to the warmth her duvet had provided for her. The goosebumps forming on her arms could be from either the cold or the fright of waking up to find someone inside her bedroom, gazing down at her. Or it was the situation overall that had her freaked out.

She opened her eyes as wide as she could to search the room. It was empty. She moved on to the adjoining one with silent steps.

The next room was also dark. So was the whole house, making it hard for her to see clearly, but she didn't want to make herself more vulnerable by turning on the lights.

She drew a strangled breath as something brushed against her leg. She looked down and silently cursed when she saw Sergio's yellow eyes staring back at her, the moonlight reflecting in them. Her focus was then immediately back to completing the search of the house.

The next room was clear, so was the one after that. She kept going from room to room and soon she had cleared the whole house.

She had found no one and nothing out of place. Had it been a dream? It had seemed so real. But nothing pointed to someone being, or even having been, inside. The possibility of her dreams being so vivid and real that she thought she was still in them when awake scared her.

She had been so certain, and even now her gut screamed at her that someone _had_ been there. But her brain argued with logic, she had found no trace of an intruder. The chance that she had still been trapped in her dream when she woke up was greater than the possibility that the person inside her home had vanished within minutes without leaving a trace.

She made a second check of the entryways. The locks on her door didn't appear to have been tampered with and she knew she had made sure to close all of her windows before going to bed.

Suddenly she felt very exposed standing there in the middle of the room dressed in nothing but her pajama shorts and tank top as the night embraced the city and her home.

Not being able to tell reality from imagination, she decided to get back to bed. It was with unease that she climbed back under the duvet and this time she didn't put the gun on the nightstand, she put it under her pillow.

She lay on her side staring at where the figure had been standing, feeling the safety of her gun below her pillow. She stared and stared into the dark and as her eyelids started closing, she fought to stay awake. After some time slipping in and out of consciousness, she stopped fighting and let oblivion take over.

* * *

 _A/N: There you go. I hope you liked it. Hopefully I will be able to update more frequently from now on._


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Greetings! The next chapter is here, happy reading!_

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

The days prior to the weekend had gone fast. The incident where she believed it to be someone in her room had seemed even more silly in daylight, and as the days passed she had put it off as a vivid part of her nightmare.

The team was still away, working on the case, and when they had called to check in on her, she decided to not tell them about it. During the call, she had tried to sound as relaxed and untroubled as possible to avoid raising any suspicion. They hadn't said or asked her anything indicating that she had failed, but their tone may have held some concern.

Since the weather had been great, Emily had spent most of her time in the park with a book. In the beginning she had had a hard time concentrating because of the memory of the shadowy figure standing in her room kept her mind occupied. But as she refused to think about it, the book was finally able to capture her interest.

When Saturday arrived Emily didn't head for the park as usual, instead she got dressed, had some cereal and milk for breakfast and then drove off in her car.

Her first stop was at a small bookstore, which she was rather familiar with. The store had been there for as long as she could remember and she could still recall the first time she set her foot inside it.

The team had come home after a case the day before and Hotch had given them the day off. Since she was still pretty new to the city, and she still had most of her books tucked away in boxes, she had strolled down the streets in hopes to find a place where she could find some new ones to place on her bookshelf.

After quite a few minutes of walking aimlessly down the street, she had almost walked straight into a door that was being pushed open. The woman who had opened the door immediately apologised and Emily had assured her that she wasn't hurt. The woman had then walked away after apologising once more. Emily had then noticed the sign on the door saying it was a bookstore. Curious if she could find any good books inside, she opened the door and entered.

It didn't take long before she had made up her mind about the place; it was perfect. She had filled her arms with as many books as she could carry and when she reached the register, the old man manning it had smiled politely at her. As she paid, he had told her a few intriguing facts about the books she had chosen.

She had walked out of the store feeling delighted and as the years passed, she had returned to it whenever she wanted to refill her stock of books, or when she just wanted to have a little chat with the owner.

Today, she had stopped at the bookstore because Josh had insisted that she'd stay for lunch since she had offered to help, he thought it was the least he could do. Therefore, she had decided to bring him something in return.

Her next stop was at a toy store. Ever since Danny had shown her his drawings she had wanted to buy him a colouring book. When she had decided which book to get him she had also grabbed a package of markers even though she assumed he already had some at home. Either way, a child could never have enough markers.

With her gifts ready, Danny's wrapped in a colourful paper so that he would be able to enjoy the act of unwrapping it, she drove to her next and last stop. Josh had sent her the address and once she had navigated her way through the city, she parked the car outside a white house. There was a front lawn and the garden held toys scattered all around. The fence separating the lawn was made of wrought iron. The tree that stood a few feet from the house had a swing attached to one of its thicker branches. From the outside the house looked exactly like so many other homes where children lived.

Emily grabbed the gifts and stepped out of the car, the gate squeaking slightly as she opened it. Emily made sure to close it properly behind her before she walked up to the porch and rang the bell.

Unlike last time, it was the older Bentley that opened the door for her.

"Emily!" he greeted her with a warm smile.

"Hi, Josh."

"Come in," he said and gestured for her to step inside.

Once inside, the other Bentley appeared.

"Em'ly!" he shouted in excitement.

"Hello there, Danny-Boy," Emily said, squatting down and held out her arms for him to walk into.

"Daddy said you'd come."

"And I did," Emily smiled. She looked at the boy closely. The only evidence left from his ordeal at the barn was a fading pink mark on his cheek. Emily remembered him telling her that the bad man had cut him there. He didn't look as tired as she expected him to do, given that she knew he still suffered from nightmares. She usually looked a lot worse than him after waking up night after night from the terror of her dreams.

"You know what?" she asked the boy.

The child shook his head.

"I brought you present."

Danny's eyes widened and his mouth turned into a toothy grin. "A present?"

"Yup, look," Emily said and picked up the wrapped colouring book and package of markers from the bag she had gotten at the store.

Danny gladly accepted the present from her. He turned it around as he studied it. "Can I open it, Daddy?" The blond boy looked up at his father with pleading eyes.

"Sure, if Emily says you can."

Danny's questioning eyes turned to her.

"Open it," she encouraged him.

The paper was immediately torn away and when his eyes landed on the cover of the book they widened in amazement. "Dinosaurs!"

"You like it?"

"Uh huh," he nodded. "Can I try it?"

"Sure," his father replied.

The small boy ran off to sit down at the kitchen table with his book and the new markers.

Emily rose from her squat and came face to face with Josh. "I got something for you too," she said. Josh looked at her in surprise.

With a small smile tugging at her lips, Emily reached into the paper bag and pulled out another present, though this one wasn't wrapped.

"As a thank you for the invitation," she said and handed him the gift.

Josh accepted the black leather notebook with some hesitation, she didn't have to bring him something. "It's a safe place for you to collect your classified family recipes," Emily teased.

Josh chuckled. "This is great! Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

"Shall we start with a tour, like last time?"

"Sure."

The two adults began the tour of the house, which ended in the living room. "And this is where the remaining boxes are," Josh commented as the pile of boxes came into view.

"Then maybe we should try to get these out of the way so that you can call the move officially over."

"Sounds like a plan," Josh agreed. "I was thinking we'd start with these." He gestured to the two top boxes. "They are filled with books and some other stuff for this room."

They took a box each and lifted it down to the floor. Emily's still not fully healed shoulder ached some as she did, but she made sure to mask it well. When she had placed the box on the floor she discreetly rolled her shoulder when she saw Josh was looking away to relax the tense muscles. The small ache soon became non-existent.

The sound of boxes being moved and opened sent the young boy into the room. His right hand was covered in different colours from the markers and, ever the profiler, Emily came to the conclusion that he must be left handed.

"Whatcha doin?" he asked and tilted his head sideways.

"Unpacking some more," his father replied.

"I wanna help."

His father nodded. "You can help Emily with hers, she's got a bad hand."

"There's nothing wrong with my hand," Emily retorted instantly.

"I believe you once the bandage is off."

"Whatever," Emily mumbled under her breath.

The boy had walked to stand next to her. "Does it hurt?" he asked as he delicately ran a finger over the gauze.

"No, not really."

"I hurt my hand once," he told her.

Emily squatted down so that she was on the same level as Danny. "You did? What happened?"

"I was playing with my friend and then the door closed on my fingers."

Emily grimaced slightly at how painful it must have been. "Did you see a doctor?"

The boy's blond locks bounced as he nodded his head. "Yeah, he was nice. And after a while my fingernails turned blue. Then when the blue disappeared the hurt was gone too."

"My hand was blue, too, for a while but now it's fine," Emily said.

"Why is it bandaged if it's fine?"

"Because I don't want to hurt it again while helping you guys," Emily replied and teasingly touched his nose. Danny smiled at her and then returned the gesture, touching her nose. She could hear Josh laughing at them as they did.

Emily picked up a small stack of books and handed it to Danny. "Why don't you ask your father where you should put these?" she suggested.

The boy spun around and turned to Josh. "Dad?"

"On the shelf right over there," he said and pointed to one of the lower shelves even though he had planned to place the books on another one.

"Okay," Danny replied and walked over to the shelf, carefully balancing the stack of three books in his arms.

When he reached the shelf, he clumsily put them down, placed them upright and pushed them as far to the left as he could. "Done!"

"Looks great!" Josh smiled. "Now why don't you show Emily how you did it so that she can place the books just as good as you did?"

Danny hurried back to Emily who was still squatting down next to the box. "Take a few books," he instructed her.

Emily looked at Josh with an amused glint in her eyes, he sure knew how to make his son feel important.

"And then you walk carefully," he continued and began walking. About halfway he stopped and turned around. "Why you not coming?"

Emily shifted her gaze to the younger Bentley. "Sorry, I'm on my way." She took a larger stack of books in her arms and followed him to the bookshelf where he then taught her how to arrange them correctly.

* * *

They had taken a lunch break when there were only two boxes left. Once again the food had been delicious. After having finished at the table the adults had returned to the duty of unpacking boxes while the youngster had started on his second picture in the dinosaur book, this time in the living room.

The last two boxes were filled with stuff for the kitchen so that was where they ended up, moving plates, glasses and other kitchenware from the boxes to the cabinets. They had made it about halfway when the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.

Emily's breath hitched as she turned around, glasses in hand, and found herself inches away from Josh. He was standing so close that she could feel the warmth radiating from his body.

She turned her head slightly upward and found him gazing down at her intensely. His blue eyes held her mesmerised. She could smell his cologne and felt his breath against her skin as he breathed. Then he slowly leaned in closer. He stopped as his lips were almost brushing against hers. He didn't press them against hers, he waited. He was letting her decide what would happen next. When Emily didn't back away, Josh leaned in even closer and carefully captured her lips.

The action was so gentle, so soft. Thoughts about how this was a bad idea rushed through Emily's mind, but in the end her feelings took over. She took the last step separating them and returned the kiss.

Only then did he dare to deepen it. He was being careful, giving her space, one wrong move or a too quick approach could possibly ruin everything. He placed his hands on her waist and gently pulled her to him.

The glasses in Emily's hands were quickly placed on the counter behind him as they only managed to be in the way. Once they had been put down, she let her hands slide slowly up his arms. She felt him shiver lightly as her hands traveled over his body and she smiled against his lips, feeling her own body reacting to his touch.

As the kiss continued, Emily's arms came to rest on his shoulders and as they explored each other, she gently pushed him against the counter. He responded with a low groan.

"Can I have a kiss too?"

Both adults rapidly pulled away from each other, breathing heavily, as the small voice startled them.

Josh looked over Emily's shoulder and began laughing. Emily turned around and saw the blonde boy staring up at them while clutching his teddy bear to his chest.

"What's so funny?" he asked with a frown.

"Nothing, Buddy," Josh replied as he tried to stop the laughter. By now, Emily also had some trouble keeping a straight face. She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing.

Josh had managed to stop laughing but he was still smiling in amusement. His little boy had just walked in on him kissing. Josh had expected it to be the other way around when Danny was old enough.

Danny innocently looked up at the adults, not understanding what was so amusing.

Emily was just about to step further away from his father when the hand Josh had on her waist held her a little closer. She looked up at Josh. He was letting her know that she didn't have to move away. He then loosened the hold a little, signalling that she could if she wanted to, he wasn't going to stop her.

She decided to stay where she was. For some reason he made her feel, not safe, but calm and relaxed. The warm hand on resting on her hip felt unusual, but it also felt good.

"Grown-ups are weird," Danny concluded with a small frown, looking down at Bear.

* * *

She arrived home feeling somewhat conflicted. The goodbye had been slightly awkward, neither had known where they stood regarding their relationship and Josh had suggested that they would talk about it the next day. Emily had agreed and even though the goodbye itself had been a little awkward, the hug she shared with him before she left had been something special.

She couldn't deny that she had feelings for him, but neither could she allow herself to fully embrace those feelings since she knew it would only complicate things further. Dylan had still not surfaced and she knew that if she was in the middle of developing a new relationship when he did, he would most likely do to Josh what he had done to Morgan and Hotch, if not even physically attack him.

She was so lost in her own thoughts when she opened the door that she almost missed the black ball of fur making a run for the outside.

"I guess I should buy you a leash and take you out sometime to prove that outside isn't as much fun as you think. Trust me when I say you have it much better in here," Emily mumbled as she stopped the cat from escaping using her foot to block his way.

She then noticed the way his tail was moving aggressively and his slightly raised fur. "What's wrong, Buddy?" she said as she bent down to pet him. He then shrugged away from her hand. Emily grew suspicious, he usually didn't avoid her touch, and especially not when she had been gone all day.

She stood tall and reached for the gun she had stored in her bag. She didn't pick it up, but the feeling of it against her hand calmed her. She took a careful step towards the living room and that was when she saw what had Sergio so on edge. She pulled out her gun and stepped further into the room. Her pulse quickened as fear and adrenaline started running through her veins. Another step and her eyes landed on the one thing that made it all even worse.

* * *

He sat back in his chair and stared at the photo he held in his hand. He lazily ran a finger over her mouth, remembering her taste. If he closed his eyes, he could even smell her. And if he thought hard enough, he could feel her, her hair brushing against his cheek, her warm body pressed against his. He missed that so much, he missed the way she talked, the way she smiled and everything about her. God, he missed her so much!

Keeping his eyes closed, he thought back to the night before. It was the closest he could come to her right now. It hadn't been the first time he visited her, but it had been the first time she had seen him.

* * *

 _His hand trembled slightly from the excitement as his outstretched arm moved towards the back door. The bright moon reflected in the silver key he had in his hand as he silently put it into the lock on the door. Like all those other times, he made sure she was sound asleep before he dared to go inside. He had gotten so accustomed to her behaviour during their time spent together and after that he knew when she had fallen into a deep enough sleep making it safe for him to enter._

 _He entered her home using the key he had grabbed on his first visit after she had returned home from the hospital. That time, he had picked the lock to get inside since all had been changed after his last visit. He had then retrieved her second spare key for the back door and ever since that night he had used the key to get inside, it was easier than having to pick the lock time after time, and it didn't leave any evidence of him having been there. Thankfully for him, Emily barely knew she had a spare key, and therefore she never used it. That was also the reason he knew she wouldn't notice it was missing any time soon. As he thought about that night, he also remembered the time he had welcomed her home after the case in Utah._

 _Everything had been going so well until that damn black guy had interrupted their reunion. At the time, he had been inside her home for two days, waiting for her to return to him. He had escaped work by calling in sick and they hadn't questioned it. He had done it after he had seen the broadcast where the blonde, JJ was her name, confirmed that the killer who had terrorized the city had been shot to death during the arrest and that the case was now officially closed. He had then known that it was only a matter of time before Emily would return home. Since that day, he had tried to plan things better, he wouldn't like for them being interrupted again the next time he had her all to himself._

 _The lock opened so easily, just a turn to the right and the locking mechanism moved along with it, like before. He remembered thinking to never underestimate the power of a key, before he took the step inside, carefully closing the door behind him. He knew to be on the look out for the black cat that sometimes came rushing towards the door. Though, during the weeks of observing her, he had learned to wait until both of them were asleep. The cat rarely moved if he was too comfortable or caught up in a dream about catching mice or whatever cats dreamed of._

 _He had chosen his best sneakers, the ones that didn't make any sound. He crossed the dark living room, walking with silent steps, moving towards her bedroom. He had learned that she woke easily if touched, the cat had sometimes woken her just by jumping up in her bed, so he couldn't touch her, even though he wanted to, so much. But seeing her and breathing the same air as her had to be enough for the time being, what he had planned for later would make the long wait worth it._

 _He brought up his camera and snapped a few photos. She looked so beautiful, lying there in bed with her head tilted to the side and her arms resting on either side of her body. The minutes passed as he stood gazing down at her. With time he watched her grow more and more restless. He considered leaving, she could wake up, but he didn't want to. So he decided to stay, against his better judgement._

 _A few minutes after she had started thrashing back and forth in the bed, tangling herself in the sheets, she shot up with a scream, staring right at him. He immediately felt the panic rising, he needed to get out. Now!_

 _He silently raced towards the door as she turned and reached for the gun he knew she had placed on the nightstand._

 _He reached the door much faster than he thought he would and he quickly pushed the handle and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. He then used the key to lock the door, erasing the last evidence of him being there._

 _As he jogged towards the car he had parked a few blocks away, the car he had bought from an old lady after dumping his Audi, he remembered the fingerprints. He hadn't worn any gloves, there had never been any need to since he always made sure to get out in time._

 _Damn!_

 _The only thing he could do now was to hope for that they were too smeared to be of any use. Though he doubted she had a bunch of techs dust her place for any prints weekly so if she hadn't really seen him, no one would care to look for them._

 _He reached the car and put the key in the ignition. He turned it and changed gear. He then added pressure to the pedal and the car started to move. With the adrenaline still pumping through his veins he felt unstoppable. That was when he decided to take the next step as soon as the next day, just because he could._

* * *

He opened his eyes and looked at her pale face. He had been stupid, not using gloves, but that was also what had him moving on to the next part of his plan. He was taking one step closer to his final goal.

Hours earlier, when she had been out, he had once again paid her home a visit, but this time he had left her a little surprise. She would sure know it was from him when she found it so leaving his prints the night before really didn't matter.

"We'll be back together soon, Em," he said as he once again ran a finger over the picture. "And you'll regret telling me off like you did..."

* * *

 _A/N: So, I'm leaving you with a little cliffhanger. Come back next time to find out what will happen next. Until then!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

Emily opened the door, pressing Sergio closer to her chest, and came face to face with a very determined and serious looking Hotch. The lines on his forehead were more prominent than usual, a clear sign that he was worried. As she looked over his shoulder she saw another familiar face.

"JJ? What are you doing here?"

"I was in a meeting with Hotch when you called," the blonde explained her presence.

"A meeting? About what?"

"I'll tell you later."

"You said you thought Dylan has been here," Hotch steered the conversation back to its original topic.

Emily tensed slightly, waved for them to step inside and then placed Sergio on the floor while she nodded her yes.

The Unit Chef noticed her change in body language at the mention of Dylan, which only confirmed his thoughts about whatever reason she had called him here for could not be good.

"Follow me," Emily said and began walking further into the house.

The two agents followed her through the hallway and as soon as the kitchen and living room came into view, they understood why she believed her ex to have been there.

Everywhere there were photos. Haphazardly taped on the wall and randomly spread out on every flat surface within view, the only exception being the floor. All together there must have been hundreds of photos and they all featured the same person, Emily.

Some of them appeared to have been taken through a window, presumably from another building judging by the angle, and others appeared to have been snapped from the street, blurry people passing by having been captured though the focus was on the brunette. In some, the bruises the man had given her were still visible and in others they had faded. In some she was with Rossi, at his house, and some of them was of her at home either with a team member visiting or alone. A few photos were of her smiling, others weren't.

Among those photos were also a few that appeared to have been taken before the obsessive behaviour had started. A few photos were of them smiling, both looking into the camera. In others, Emily was either kissing Dylan's cheek or him hers. Pictures of them holding hands or sitting comfortably next to each other could also be spotted among the many, pictures that must have been taken by his friends since hers hadn't known about their relationship until it turned bad.

Out of all these photos, a group of rather dark pictures taped to the wall especially captured JJ and Hotch's interest. The two stepped closer to get a better look while Emily stood back, crossing her arms over her chest and began running her hands up and down them as if she was freezing. She knew they would notice it too.

"Emily..." JJ began with a slight edge to her voice. "These are of you sleeping." She turned to look at the brunette with worried eyes.

"I know," Emily replied, stilling the movement of her hands to appear more in control and less frightened.

"Judging from the angle... they must have been taken from inside this house," JJ continued.

"That's what I thought too," the brunette agreed and did her very best to keep her emotions from showing.

"We need to get CSU in here," Hotch said shortly and pulled out his phone, not liking this at all.

As Hotch called for the crime scene techs, JJ walked over to where her friend was standing. "Are you okay?"

Emily nodded and cleared her throat, "I'm fine."

JJ might not be the most experienced profiler, but even before she became one, she had developed a sense for when her friends and colleagues were not fine. So, no matter how many times Emily told her she was, JJ knew that she wasn't. "I would be scared."

Emily shrugged.

"Oh, come on, Em. Don't give me the tough agent act, I know this must be affecting you."

Emily gave JJ a stubborn glance and then released a defeated sigh. "Fine, I might not be totally comfortable with this."

"And that's perfectly normal," the blonde replied.

"Do you have any idea how he got inside?" Hotch asked as he came to stand next to the women after having finished his phone call.

Emily shook her head and looked around as if something in the house would give her the answer. "I don't know. The door was locked when I got home and I haven't found any broken windows. And neither the locks on the front or the back door look like they have been tampered with."

Hotch turned to look at the darker photos taped on the wall. "He has been inside before."

"I agree with you," JJ replied. "But how come the officer patrolling outside haven't seen or heard anything suspicious?"

Hotch thought about that question for a moment but couldn't come up with a good answer. "I'll have to talk to him about it," he concluded and then continued to question Emily about possible entryways. "Have you left any windows open when going to bed?" An open window would explain how Dylan had been able to get inside, at least to take the photos, and would also explain how the patrolling policeman could have missed him since some of the windows were hard to spot from his route.

"No," Emily answered without having to think about it. She always made sure the windows were closed and that the doors were locked before going to bed.

"Then how did he manage to get inside?" JJ sighed in frustration and the room was filled with silence as the all tried to come up with an answer.

"Who has a key?" Hotch questioned.

"Other than me, just my neighbour and he would never let Dylan in. Not after last time."

"And you haven't lost a key?"

"Not that I know of..." Emily said thoughtfully. "After you replaced the locks, you guys gave me four set of keys, two to the front and two to the back door. I gave my neighbour the spare for the front and keep the other one on my keychain. I'm not sure about the spare for the back. It should be somewhere around here..."

Emily walked over to her desk and began pulling out the drawers only to seconds later forcefully slam them shut. "It should be in here," she mumbled and walked to the bedroom after having found none in the living room. When she didn't find anything in there either, she returned to the desk and checked it a second time, thinking maybe she missed it the first time around.

"Okay, it's missing," Emily said and slammed the drawer shut. "The son of a bitch must have taken it."

* * *

"JJ, you don't have to do this. I can stay at a hotel," Emily argued as the two female agents stepped through the door leading to JJ's house.

The CSU team were still going over her house, collecting photos and securing evidence that could be used to establish that it was Dylan who had broken in to her home, not that anyone doubted it, but physical evidence always helped the case. Because of this, Emily couldn't stay at home and JJ had immediately offered her to stay in the guest room. After having made a quick detour to Garcia's apartment where Emily once again dropped off Sergio, she had called before to make sure that it was okay, they had arrived at the LaMontage-Jareau household.

"Emily, stop it. You are not staying at a hotel."

"I wouldn't mind. I don't want to be in your way."

"You won't! Now, come on. It smells like dinner is ready."

Emily dropped her overnight bag by the door and followed JJ to the kitchen. There they found both Will and Henry in front of the stove, preparing dinner. Will was stirring the pot and Henry was kneeling on the chair that had been put in front of the stove so that he could reach it.

"Mommy!" Henry exclaimed once he spotted JJ and and quickly climbed off the chair to give her a hug.

"Hi, Mommy's big boy." She lifted him up and gave him a proper hug.

"I'm helping Daddy make food," Henry told her proudly.

"Oh, I bet you're doing a great job."

"He might even turn out a better cook than his mom," Will teased and smiled at his wife.

JJ put Henry down on the floor, who quickly returned to his place on the chair, and greeted Will with a kiss.

"I've missed you," he said.

"I've missed you too," JJ smiled and gave him a small peck on the lips.

Emily stayed back, giving JJ time to say hello to her family. Will was the one to notice her standing there, leaning against the doorframe separating the kitchen from the hallway.

"Emily," he greeted her.

"Hi, Will," she smiled and took a step into the kitchen.

At the sound of her voice the child turned around, splashing some sauce on the wall, and waved at her enthusiastically. "Hi, Emily!"

"Hello there, little Master Chef."

"Emily's going to stay over tonight," JJ told Will. "I'll tell you more about it later," she added before he had the time to ask his question.

Will nodded and accepted his wife's cryptic message without any further questions.

"I'm making Mac and Cheese," Henry told Emily.

"I hope you like it," Will said.

"Who doesn't?"

"Great," JJ smiled. "I'm guessing it'll be done soon?" She turned to Will for confirmation who nodded. "Good. I'll set the table."

JJ began reaching for the plates placed in one of the cabinets and as she closed it, she saw Emily reaching for the glasses in another.

"You can go and sit down, you don't have to help."

"I want to," Emily replied and the way she said it made it clear to JJ that she wasn't about do anything but.

"Okay. If you get the water and milk in the fridge, I'll get the knives and forks," JJ decided.

The two quickly set the table as Will made sure that Henry didn't burn himself as he was stirring the mac and cheese.

It didn't take long before they were all seated around the table and enjoying the meal. As they ate, Henry told the adults about his day, something Emily was thankful for as it served as a distraction from her own thoughts. As the boy told his story, he was keen on getting even the smallest detail right, which resulted in him starting over multiple times. Something that amused the adults almost as much as the actual story.

* * *

After dinner, Will helped Henry get ready for bed as JJ and Emily took care of the dishes. Thankfully the family had a dishwasher which made it a lot easier and quicker to clean the table.

Emily was aimlessly walking around as she waited for JJ to finish washing a pan that couldn't go in the dishwasher. When she reached the fridge, something caught her attention, something she had missed earlier when she was fetching the milk and the water.

She moved the magnet pinning the photo to the fridge and took a closer look. No, she hadn't been imagining, this photo had been taken recently.

JJ wiped her hands on a towel as she turned around to face Emily. "Shoot!" She had totally forgotten about that photo being there.

Emily looked up from the photo in her hand and faced the blonde. "JJ, are you pregnant?"

JJ sighed and threw the towel on the counter. "You weren't suppose to find out this way... I was planning on telling you guys all at once."

"So, you are having another baby?"

"Yes."

Emily smiled broadly at her friend. "Congratulations!" She walked the few steps separating them and embraced JJ in a hug.

"Thank you," the blonde smiled and returned the hug.

As they let go of each other, Emily realised something. "So that's what your meeting with Hotch was about."

"Yeah, we were discussing when to take me out of the field."

Emily nodded and carefully put the picture back on the fridge. "I won't tell."

"I know," JJ smiled.

* * *

JJ and Emily had spent the rest of the evening talking about the most recent case the team, all except Emily, had been away on. Will had left the house to start his shift when he had put Henry to sleep. JJ told Emily that the case had been a hard one. A man and a woman posing as caring adults on the street had lured homeless teenagers to their home with promises of food and shelter, but what they received instead was hours of torture and later, death.

As the hours went by, they switched to lighter topics and talked until they were both too tired to continue. JJ then showed Emily to the guest room. They bid each other good night and as soon as JJ had closed the door behind her, the relaxed act Emily had kept up ever since JJ and Hotch showed up at her home was replaced with her true feelings.

She sat down on the bed, put her elbows on her knees and rested her forehead in her hands. How the hell had she missed the signs? How had she let herself get into this? And more importantly, how was she suppose to get herself out?

Those thoughts occupied her mind as she remained in her position on the bed. She didn't know for how long she had sat like that, when she suddenly felt like she was being watched. Emily looked out the window into the dark night. The only face she saw was her own, reflecting in the glass.

She rose from her seat on the bed and walked closer to the window, still she couldn't see anything or anyone suspicious. She wasn't a stranger to paranoia, both before and after the Dylan incident, looking over her shoulder had been an habit, and now it seemed like she was falling back into the same pattern.

Emily made sure the windows were closed properly before she pulled the curtains to cover them. She then went to pick up her gun from the bag she had brought and placed it on the nightstand. She undressed and changed to clothes comfortable enough to sleep in. After that, she flipped the switch and the sole lamp standing next to her bed became the only source of light in the room. Before she crawled under the duvet, she decided to check the windows one last time, but as she did, she also felt the need to check the front door. She knew JJ had made sure it was locked before going to bed, but she would feel better if she did it herself, especially after today. Trying to make as little sound as possible, Emily pushed the door to her room open and tiptoed to the front door where she carefully turned the door knob and checked the locks.

Having made sure that everything was secured made the climb into bed a little easier once she returned to her room. With a sigh she turned off the lamp.

The room went dark.

The gun was now resting in her hand under her pillow, against her better judgement. She knew it wasn't smart, sleeping with your gun. But without it, it would be almost impossible to fall asleep, even though she knew JJ, an officer of the law, was down the hall.

Emily tried to relax and closed her eyes, but the memory of Dylan having been in her room while she slept quickly sent her eyelids flying open. She scanned the room for him, but she was alone. Of course she was, all possible entryways were locked and secured. He had a key to her house, not to JJ's. Which meant, when she thought about it, that she would have to change the locks, again. And this time she was adding a chain to both doors because apparently, Dylan had some lock picking skills that Emily didn't know about.

When having calmed down a bit, she made a second attempt at falling asleep. However, as soon as she started to drift off, the image of her house covered in pictures featuring her took over and she was instantly wide awake. The few times she managed to push the thoughts of the pictures aside, memories of the attack assaulted her mind and made it impossible to sleep.

After hours of drifting off, only to then jerk back to consciousness, she gave up on getting any sleep. Instead she flipped on the small light next to the bed and went to pick up the book she had brought with her just in case. Book in hand, she climbed back in bed and started where she had last left off.

Slowly the outside became lighter as Emily turned page after page, trying to block out the memories of Dylan.

* * *

Since Josh was still new to the city, Emily had been the one to pick the café. She had chosen a place she knew her colleagues never went to, just to make sure she wouldn't have to explain everything to them.

She was tired and irritated. Her eyes stung, were slightly blood shoot and she had dark circles beneath them. She was constantly yawning and her temper was on edge. Dylan had once again managed to screw with her life and she was getting tired of it.

She hadn't been waiting for long when he came to join her at the table. She started talking even before he had the time to sit down.

"I'm a mess."

Josh, pausing midway when sitting down, looked at her in surprise. "I'm sorry?"

"My life is a mess and I would only cause you trouble."

"What are you talking about?" he asked in confusion, seeing none of the relaxed and happy person he had seen yesterday.

"It's complicated," Emily sighed and decided that he deserved the truth. "There's a person looking for me and there is no way we could... could start a relationship without this person hurting you in some way."

Josh tried to look her in the eyes but she kept avoiding his gaze. "Is this person your ex boyfriend?"

Emily's eyes finally met his. "It doesn't matter who he is. The only thing that matters is that he will hurt you _and_ Danny if he thinks there's something going on between us."

"You're telling me to walk away because some nutcase can't accept that it's over?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not. The only thing that will have me walk away from you is if you can honestly tell me that you don't feel anything for me. That you don't think this," he gestured between the two of them, "is not worth a chance. I don't know about you, but yesterday I felt something that I haven't felt in a very long time and I'm hoping that you feel the same way because I really like you, Emily."

Emily looked down at her hands resting in her lap and let her hair fall down in front of her face. She wasn't surprised to see that she had started picking at her fingernails. She would be lying if she told him that she hadn't felt it too, but she couldn't risk Josh and Danny getting hurt. As soon as Dylan realised what was going on between her and Josh, he would make Josh his prime target.

"Emily, I'm no profiler but your hesitation is telling me something."

"I can't risk you guys getting hurt," Emily said quietly.

"Why are you so sure he would hurt us?"

"Because I know he will," Emily sighed in frustration. "He has already made that clear through his phone calls to Hotch and Morgan."

Josh leaned back in his seat and became quiet for a few seconds when lost in his own thoughts. "They're members of your team, right?"

"Yeah."

"And he hasn't done anything to anyone else on the team, not the women even though you spend time with them too?"

Emily frowned. "No."

"How about your cat?"

"Sergio? No, what does he have to with this?"

"It sounds to me like he's got a type. Grown males that tend to pose as a threat to him."

"Exactly!" Emily replied. "And in case you've missed it, you fit that type to a T."

"But Danny doesn't," Josh answered calmly. "So he probably won't hurt him."

Emily didn't answer but simply stared at him.

"What I'm trying to make you understand is that I'm the only one he'll go after, and I'm still willing to risk it if that means I'll get a chance with you."

Emily sighed and looked out the window located next to their table. "You're crazy," she mumbled as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Crazy can be good," Josh said and smiled.

Emily shifted her gaze from the window to him and returned his smile. "Okay, but we'll go slow. And if anything happens, don't tell me I didn't warn you."

"Sounds good to me," he agreed. "So... is it okay for me to hold your hand now?"

Emily actually laughed. She then placed her right hand on the table and opened it for him. Josh smiled and slid his hand over and took hers in his. As he held it, he started making small circles on the top using his thumb. Emily smiled softly at him as she leaned her head in her other palm, elbow placed on the table top.

"You're still crazy," she declared.

* * *

 _A/N: There we go. Feel free to let me know what you think, I always appreciate your thoughts. Unfortunately it seems like I have lost some of my usual reviewers, but I guess that's what happens when you don't update for almost 6 months. Anyways, next up is Emily returning to work._


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Once again, it took me some time to finish but here it is. Dear readers, chapter 10._

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

Morgan had been furious when he found out about the photos. Reid had turned pale and a small fire had appeared in Rossi's eyes. When Morgan stormed off to tell Garcia, Hotch expected a major scene coming up and he hadn't been totally wrong.

The technical analyst had been horrified when Emily confessed that she didn't have a security system above average. As soon as Emily told her, Garcia called in a favour in order to work some magic. The next thing the brunette knew, she had the latest gadgets when it came to security. All because the blonde had had one of her trusted, skilled friends installing a brand new security system to keep something like this from happening again. And Emily had happily let her.

Emily also made sure to change the locks, again. The whole team felt guilty for not being able to keep her safe. Despite them having placed an Officer with her for protection, Dylan had still gotten to her and the team was now wallowing in guilt. For some reason, Hotch felt especially responsible. Maybe it was because, once again, the man looking for her had found her. The fact that Emily could detect his guilt was enough to let her know how much this was affecting him as well. She was his employee and in this line of work, he felt responsible for assuring her safety. She had tried to talk to him about it, but she soon realised that it was in vain, no matter what she said, he would keep blaming himself.

Emily only had to spend one night at JJ's before she could return home, bringing Sergio with her. Upon returning home, the photos had been taken down and logged in as evidence. The new security system and the locks made her feel somewhat better, but she doubted she would be able to sleep with both eyes closed for a long time, at least not until Dylan had been caught.

They had also decided to put another uniformed cop on watching her house. The fact that Dylan had managed to get passed the one they had already placed outside had them wondering if it was the young policeman doing a poor job, or if Dylan was much smarter than they thought. Either way, Emily would have to get used to being followed wherever she went.

The first time she saw Josh after the ordeal he instantly noticed the squad car following her own. Since he would be affected by this as well, she had no other choice but to tell him the reason for it. He had been visibly shaken at the news and kept asking if she was okay. In the end she had told him that his concern for her was very sweet, but if he asked her one more time she would throw her muffin at him. The question never came up again.

* * *

Emily returned to work two weeks later on the condition that she would talk to the shrink two times a week to discuss what she had been through. Emily had agreed to it only because she was getting bored out of her mind staying home all day, flipping page after page in yet another book.

When she rode the elevator up to the bullpen, she felt excited to finally be back, even though Hotch had made it clear that it would strictly be desk duty for the time being. It didn't matter that she wasn't allowed to work the field just yet, she was simply happy to be back. To have a piece of normality returned to her.

Her bruises were all gone and her hand had healed fully now. Her ribs still bothered her somewhat when twisting her body into some positions. When it came to her physical state, it mostly was like nothing had happened. Even though she didn't want to think about it, Emily knew she had a long way to go. She still had partially healed mental scars that would probably remain that way for awhile. It had always been easier for her to get back from any kind of physical damage than mental, mostly because she was too stubborn to accept the help she needed to fully get there. To process and come to terms with what had happened. She still hadn't decided how honest or revealing she would be during her sessions, what would help her get over it in the shortest amount of time, but that would have to be sorted out later. Today, she would just enjoy the feeling of being back.

The elevator stopped on the sixth floor and she got off. She then pushed one of the glass doors open and walked inside the bullpen.

Her desk was crowded. The whole team was there, waiting for her and to welcome her back. Once Emily got a glance of her desk she decided that Garcia must have stayed up all night baking cupcakes, because the huge box placed on her desk held enough cupcakes to feed an army.

"Welcome back!" Garcia said as soon as she spotted the brunette.

"Thanks," Emily replied with a smile while she tried to comprehend how much work the technical analyst must have put down into the treats. Not only were they many, they were also carefully decorated with frosting and sprinkles.

"It's good to have you back, Kiddo," Rossi greeted her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It's good to be back," she replied and gave the hand he had placed on her shoulder a light squeeze.

As Rossi removed his hand, Emily was captured in a hug by JJ, which Emily immediately returned. "Welcome back."

"Thank you."

"Move away, move away. It's my turn now." The technical analyst began swatting lightly at JJ for her to move.

A small laugh escaped Emily upon seeing her friend's eagerness to get to her. Seconds later, she was embraced by the ever so bright and colourful analyst.

"I've missed you so much," Garcia said as she carefully squeezed her friend.

"You've been visiting me whenever you had the time. I think Kevin got jealous of all the time you spent with me instead of him," Emily laughed.

"Oh, he understands. I'll make it up to him later. And I've still missed you. It's not the same when you're not here."

A loving smile spread on Emily's face. "Thank you."

The perky blonde then released the brunette and quickly pressed a cupcake into her hand. "Here, these are for you."

"I figured," Emily chuckled and looked down at the very beautiful cupcake placed in her hand.

"Just because you've had your hug doesn't mean we're all ready to enjoy your delicious cupcakes yet, Mama," Morgan commented upon seeing Garcia hand Emily one.

"Oh, that's right! Sorry, I'm just so excited for her to be back."

The team laughed. Not even the agent seated in front of his computer down in the furthest corner of the bullpen could have missed picking up on her excitement.

Emily placed the treat on her desk and moved to hug the remaining members of the team. Once everyone had had a chance of welcoming her back, she picked it up again. "Are we allowed to start eating now?" she smirked, looking at her partner.

"We're all good to go," he replied and fetched one for himself.

Sounds of appreciation spread among the team as they took their first bite. "This is amazing!" Emily said turning to Garcia.

"Thank you very much. I had so much fun making them."

"I sure hope," Rossi commented, eying the large box containing way too many cupcakes for seven people.

The next few minutes were filled with small talk about what had been going on when she was away, what they had been doing during the weekend and so on. Emily didn't do much of the talking, enjoying listening to what the others had to tell. As she stood leaning against her desk, she realised just how much she had missed this. Sure, sometimes she wished everyone would just stop killing each other so that she wouldn't have to haul her ass out of bed at inappropriate times, but as she thought about it, she realised it was because of the team and the fact that they were making a difference, may it be a small one, that she enjoyed going to work as much as she did. Taking a header into a pond and almost getting blown up were just parts of the job, though not the best ones.

"Hey." She felt someone nudge at her arm. "Where did you go?"

Emily returned to the world of the living and blinked return focus to her vision. "I was just thinking," she said to Morgan who had been the one to ask her.

"Nothing bad I hope?" It was his way of asking if she was okay.

Emily smiled. "Nope, all good and happy thoughts."

"Care to share?"

She pretended to think about it, tapping her chin with her finger and putting on the 'I'm thinking hard face.'

"Nah, maybe some other time," she replied with a sly grin.

"Fine, have it your way then," he said, crossing his arms and pretending to pout.

Emily laughed at his silly behaviour. "I was just thinking about the job, of how the small, good moments often outweighs the bad ones."

Her partner's face returned to normal and his arms fell to his sides. "That's a nice thought, considering you seem to attract the bad."

Emily shrugged. "Shit happens, it's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and as long as I'm the only one getting caught in the middle of it, I'm fine with that. I've learned to handle it."

Morgan felt a small pang in his heart at hearing his partner talking about it like that, and the worst part was that it was true. Life has not been kind to her and the fact that she managed to get back up again time after time made him proud.

"Speaking of the job, has any progress been made?" she asked, looking around at the crowd. She didn't need to specify which case she was talking about, they all knew she was wondering about Dylan's.

"Nothing deal breaking," Hotch began. "The information they have come across mostly helps us clear up a few questions, such as how he knew you would return home that specific day."

"How did he?" Emily questioned. She hadn't thought much about it, even though it was a rather important question. How had he known? Had he been waiting inside her home for days, hoping that the next day might be the day she returned, or had he somehow known when she would come back?

"Apparently the news aired a broadcast about the case after the UnSub had been killed where they mentioned the BAU's participation. We don't know for sure, and neither does the team handling the case, but even though it may seem like a stretch they think he picked up on us returning home when watching the news. He probably went to your place after that and waited. They found no evidence to suggest he had stayed there for a longer period of time, no unwashed dishes and your neighbours didn't recall any movements in or out of the house. So, I think their theory might be correct."

Emily nodded as she listened carefully, as did the rest of the team. It was news to them too. Emily thought the interpretation of the events and evidence made sense, and so seemed the rest of the team.

"His supervisor also reported that Dylan called in sick that day, probably so that he could make sure to be there when you got home."

"Probably," Emily agreed.

"Has he contacted you since then?" the Unit Chief asked her, hoping that they may be able to work from that.

Emily shook her head. "Nope, nothing." Which was a little unsettling. She'd rather have him contact her so that she could get a picture of where his head was at, and maybe even a chance of getting a clue to where he was holding up. The silence made her uneasy, she felt, much to her frustration, like a prey waiting for the inevitable.

"Maybe he's giving up. He might have fled the country when he realised he has the whole FBI looking for him," Garcia said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"I doubt it, Baby Girl," Morgan replied. "You've flagged everything, right?"

"If he as much tries to buy a tooth pick using his credit card, my babies will go all mad. We won't miss it."

"What if he uses cash instead?" JJ questioned.

"I also have facial recognition running the areas often visited by him, so that should alert my babies as well."

"And if he choses to stay away from those places _and_ pay for everything in cash?" Emily was the one asking it, but she knew they were all thinking about it.

"Well... Then we have a problem. Though, we do have an APB out from which someone will hopefully recognise him," Garcia smiled brightly.

"Yeah, hopefully," Emily agreed and gave the blonde a small smile. She knew how easy it was for someone to change their appearance. Dyed hair, coloured lenses and a change of clothes was often enough to fool a lot of people. Unfortunately, Dylan didn't have any visible scars, tattoos or any other visible mark that could be used for identification. He did have a scar on his back though, Emily knew, but since he wouldn't be walking around shirtless, it wouldn't be of much help.

Hotch's ringtone broke the silence that had fallen over the gathering upon realising how easy Dylan could escape their attempts to catch him.

The Unit Chief answered the call and based on his facial expression, the team all concluded it was business related. As Hotch nodded and exchanged a few words with the caller, the others finished up on their latest cupcake and began preparing to get to work.

A curt and final reassurance that they'd get there as soon as possible could be heard before the call was over.

"Work?" JJ asked as Hotch was placing the phone back in his pocket.

"Yes, a very urgent case in West Virginia. Let's meet in the conference room in about ten minutes. The lead detective is sending over the information regarding the case as we speak."

Everyone either voiced or nodded their confirmation and began walking towards their respective desk. Emily, who was already at her desk, sat down and stared at the huge box still containing a large amount of cupcakes.

"Hey, Pen," she stopped the blonde before she had the time to run back to her lair. "What am I suppose to do with all of these?"

Garcia returned to Emily's desk and glanced down in the box. "Oh, they're all yours. Do what you want, eat them, save them for later or give them away," she replied and continued her journey to her office.

Emily sighed and once again looked at the box. She decided to share the remaining treats with the other agents on their floor. She got up from her seat and carried the box to the break area where she quickly scribbled down a note saying 'Help yourself!' before returning to her seat with a steaming cup of tea.

* * *

The case was about a recent mass grave in which, so far, five people had been found. The excavation team was still at the scene, working as fast and as efficient as they could without rushing through the procedure.

Everyone but Emily and Garcia had taken the jet to the neighbour state, and were currently meeting up with the local police. Emily had spent the time since the meeting looking into the files of the victims that had been identified at the site, either due to the local police knew them personally or because they had handled the missing person case.

Emily had already found a pattern. The victims were all female in their late twenties, last seen visiting clubs in an area close to the burial site. She had told the team about her findings during her last phone call. At the moment, she was looking over Garcia's shoulder as the tech searched the missing person files, having used Emily's findings as a way to narrow her search. Hopefully, they would find an ID for the other two girls, before the DNA results came back. They had both been buried for far too long for it to be possible to make a visible ID.

They both stared at the screen until it finally dinged, signalling that four possible matches had been found.

"Let me see what we got..." Garcia said, squinting at the screen. "Mary Brown, twenty-eight years old, student at Bluefield State College... Sharon Jackson, twenty-nine, single mom to a three year old son, employed at the bar where she went missing... Laura Simmons, twenty-seven year old nanny... And last we have Anna Lewis, twenty-nine, med student during the day and bartender at night. Jeez how can one person manage that?"

"I'll call Hotch," Emily said and a few minutes later he had been filled in on their latest findings. "Much thanks to Garcia's brilliant computer skills," she ended the call and found her friend beaming at her, appreciating the compliment.

"And that scary, beautiful brain of yours which excels at finding patterns," Garcia added.

"I don't know about that, I'm pretty sure Reid would beat me if we were ever to compete against each other."

"Pumpkin, everyone would lose if Reid was the opponent. I'm pretty sure his brain is alien," Garcia said and they shared a laugh. So far Emily's first day back had been good.

* * *

As she was stepping into the elevator, Hotch having to threaten putting her back on leave if she didn't call it a night, she thought about her day. The rest of the team were still working, Garcia too. They had made progress during the day and the team had already come up with a profile for their UnSub; white male in his mid to late thirties, average looking, frequently visiting bars since it was where he found his victims. They also believed him to either have a job that required strength or being an active gym member, this because he was able to dig the grave in the woods and carry the bodies to it.

Emily realised being back at work was exactly the distraction she needed. Not once during the day, except for when they were discussing him, had she thought about Dylan. The work had kept her mind occupied and focused, not letting thoughts or memories about him enter.

Tomorrow would be worse though; she would have to talk to the shrink. But today, she was leaving the building at six in the afternoon, feeling better than she had in a long time.

She had just pushed the door open and stepped outside when her phone pinged, signalling she had a new text message. She reached for it and opened the text, seeing it was from Josh.

" _Would you like to join me and Danny for breakfast tomorrow morning, before work?"_

Emily smiled at the screen, typing her reply saying that she would very much like to meet them for breakfast.

" _Does 6:30 at the usual place work for you?"_

The diner they had first gone to for a cup of coffee had soon become their usual place, both appreciating the drinks and meals served. Emily typed her confirmation and put her phone back into her pocket as she continued walking towards her car. Despite it having been a good one, it had been a long day and now, she was looking forward to unwinding in front of the TV, accompanied by Sergio.

* * *

 _A/N: A little less action in this one, but still interesting I hope._


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Greetings! We'll start with breakfast and see where it takes us. Happy reading!_

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

"So, what are you having?" Emily asked the boy as she picked up the menu and began scanning it.

"I want pancakes," he replied with a huge grin directed at his father who was sitting next to him. "With syrup."

"Then pancakes you shall have," Josh said and ruffled his son's hair. "How about you?"

His question was directed at Emily and as she thought about it, she realised she hadn't had pancakes in a very long time. "I think I'll have pancakes too."

"Really? I never typed you for the pancake kind of woman."

"Then you got it all wrong. My mother never let me have pancakes for breakfast when I was a kid so when I finally moved out, pancakes became my everyday breakfast, until I one day realised I had had too much and after that I kind of stayed away from them for quite some time."

Josh chuckled slightly at her story, thinking back to his younger days when his mother always made pancakes for him and his brother in the morning.

"Daddy, can I have a milkshake too?" Danny asked, looking up at his father with puppy dog eyes.

"I think the syrup is enough sugar for you. How about a large glass of milk instead?"

Danny gave a tiny pout before nodding yes to the milk.

"Since Danny and I have both made up our minds, I think it's time for you to decide before we begin to starve." Her words were meant for Josh but as she spoke, she looked at Danny and gave him a wink, causing the blonde boy to break out in a huge grin.

"Yeah, Daddy. Hurry up! I'm starving!"

Josh sent Emily a traitorous glance, realising his son would side with Emily no matter what.

"I'll go with the egg and toast," he decided and waved for the waitress. As the young woman reached their table, he placed their orders and asked for two cups of coffee, one decaf remembering Emily had ordered it whenever they had coffee.

As they waited for their orders to arrive, Emily engaged the boy in a conversation about his new kindergarten. She was asking him questions about his friends, but also what he thought of his new home. When their meals arrived, Danny was still telling her about this impressive story one of the teachers had read the group yesterday.

"And then the dragon flew away because he was scared of the snail."

"Really?" Emily said, smiling at the boy. "It must've been a very scary snail."

"Not really," Danny replied, too excited to remember to finish chewing before he spoke.

"Not with your mouth full," his father reminded him.

The boy chewed as quickly as possible so that he could finish telling the agent about the book. "Sorry," he apologised to his father before turning to Emily. "The snail was just very smart, because he realised the dragon was afraid of spiders so he dressed up as one."

 _A very interesting book indeed_ , Emily thought.

"What happened then? After the snail had scared the dragon?"

Danny gulped down some milk, using both his hands to hold the large glass. "He rescued his friend, The Pig."

"His friend, The Pig," Emily repeated, looking at Josh with a small smile.

"Authors do have an interesting imagination nowadays," he commented with an amused grin.

"That they do," she agreed.

* * *

Emily had just stepped off the elevator when Garcia came her way, holding out a cup of coffee for her to take. "Morning, Kitten," the blonde greeted her.

"Good morning. Oh, I've already had coffee," Emily replied upon seeing the mug.

"Really? Usually you have your coffee here or you have a cup with you."

"Yes, but today I had breakfast at this café so I had my coffee there," Emily replied as she began walking towards her desk, followed by Garcia who had started drinking from the cup she had offered Emily earlier.

"Is that really a good idea? Being out in the open like that all by yourself?"

"First of all, I still have officers following me. And secondly, I wasn't alone."

The part where Emily had not been alone especially caught Garcia's interest. The team was still away, so who had she spent her morning with?

"Not alone, huh?" A sly grin spread across Garcia's face.

 _Shit._

Emily sighed, she might as well tell her or otherwise the blonde would probably hack every street camera, ATM footage and every other surveillance videos available, looking for the place she went to and who she met.

"Josh and Danny were with me," Emily replied with a shrug, trying to get Garcia to drop the subject by appearing casual about it.

"Josh and Danny?" The blonde spoke mostly to herself as she tried to remember where she had heard those names before while taking gulps of the drink.

Emily hung her blazer over the back of her chair, sat down and began reading the file on the case they were currently working on.

"Danny is the boy from the barn!" Garcia exclaimed as she finally remembered. "And Josh is his father."

Garcia smiled knowingly at Emily who was pretending not to pay attention to her snooping. "How come those two get to spend time with my Warrior?"

Emily shrugged nonchalantly.

"You're seeing him? Josh I mean, not Danny because that would have been all kinds of wrong."

"Garcia!"

"Sorry," she quickly apologised. "But seriously Em, are you?"

Emily exhaled loudly and dropped the pen she had in her hand on top of the open file. She then turned to look at Garcia. "I don't know," she replied honestly. They had agreed on taking things slow and Emily was still second guessing her decision to not back away from them. Not because she didn't like spending time with them, but because a small voice in the back of her head kept insisting that Josh would get hurt if she didn't.

"You don't know?" Garcia said and looked at her friend with a confused expression.

"We've met up for lunch and sometimes just a coffee during my leave, but we've never gone on a real date." She intentionally left out the part where they had been kissing rather enthusiastically in Josh's kitchen.

"So, you're friends that might become more than just friends?"

Emily smiled at Garcia's way of putting it. "I guess you can call us that."

"Do you like him?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Yes, but my life is so messy right now that I don't know what to do," Emily sighed and sagged back in her chair.

Garcia smiled at her and patted her knee. "Don't worry about it. We'll catch Dylan in no time and then you can sort out your feelings for Josh."

With that, she left Emily and headed back to her lair to do some work.

* * *

Two days later, the rest of the BAU returned home, having solved the case. Unfortunately, both Hotch and Morgan had been forced to fire at the man since he refused to surrender. One shot had been fatal and the UnSub had died at the scene.

Both Garcia and Emily were seated in the bullpen, waiting for their teammates' arrival. Emily was leaning against her desk while Garcia was pacing nearby.

"I don't understand how you do this," Emily said.

"Do what?"

"The waiting."

"Well, think of it like this. When you do the waiting, you know everyone is coming back to you, that you're all in one piece. The worst part is when you're all away and I don't know which one of you that might not come back."

Emily didn't get a chance to reply before Garcia was walking rapidly across the room, having spotted the team.

"Are you sure you're both okay?" Emily heard Garcia ask Hotch and Morgan.

"We're fine, Baby Girl," Morgan replied and put down his bag to give her a hug.

"Welcome back," Emily said and pushed herself off her desk. She then went to join the group standing by the glass doors separating the bullpen from the corridor.

"Thanks," JJ replied and smiled at her friend, feeling relived that she looked somewhat more rested since the last time she saw her.

"How much of a pain in the ass has this one been during our time away?" Morgan asked, teasingly grinning at his partner.

"Oh, come on," Emily said and gave his shoulder a light punch.

"I'm just kidding," he grinned and put one of his arms around her shoulders while the other rested over Garcia's.

"You've been good?" Rossi asked Emily as his eyes met hers after she had untangled herself from Morgan.

"Yeah," she replied with a small smile.

"Glad to hear." Emily appreciated his concern. She also appreciated him not having mentioned the nightmares she knew he was aware of, instead trusting her to come to him if she felt the need.

"I don't know about you guys, but I would like to get some paperwork done before the evening. So if you don't mind, I'll retire to my desk," JJ said and began moving towards her chair.

"I'll think I'll do the same," Rossi said and walked off to his office.

A few more words were exchanged among the agents before they all sat down at their respective desks, all but Morgan who had followed Garcia to her lair to chat some more before digging into the task at hand.

* * *

JJ was the first to leave that evening, soon followed by Rossi. Then Reid left too, leaving only the partners and the Unit Chief.

Emily had just finishing up on her report when she felt a presence next to her. She completed her sentence before looking up, only to find Morgan leaning against her desk. "Something on your mind, partner?" Emily questioned.

"Not much, really. Just wondering about when you were going to tell me about that new friend of yours?"

"Who?" Emily looked at him in confusion.

"The one with the kid we saved a few months ago."

That's when Emily realised who he was talking about. "Garcia told you?" she asked with a slight edge to her voice. She always found in a challenge talking about her personal life and the few times she did, she didn't like the things she said passed on to everyone else on the team.

"She mentioned you've been spending some time with him lately."

"Of course she did."

"He seems like a good guy. A good father. I didn't know he used to coach a swimming team back in Utah, though."

"Neither does she," Emily said and rapidly rose from her chair.

* * *

"You did a background check on Josh?!" the words leaving her mouth as Emily slammed the door open to Garcia's Bat Cave, fixing the blonde with an angry glare.

The technical analyst jumped at the sudden intrusion, placing her right hand over her heart. It didn't take long for her to recover though, once she realised who had scared the living daylights out of her. Once she had, she immediately began defending her actions, blurting out the first thought that came to her mind.

"Your latest boyfriend put you in a hospital!"

Emily stepped further into the room and slammed the door shut behind her. "And that gives you the right to interfere?" She didn't even bother correcting her that Josh wasn't technically her boyfriend.

"No! That's not... What I'm saying..." the blonde took a deep breath while she gathered her thoughts. "I did this because I don't want to see you hurt like _Dylan_ ," she practically spit his name out, "made you hurt, ever again."

After a quick intake of breath, she continued before Emily could begin to argue against her. "It was torture watching you all bruised and banged up. And it's even worse knowing that he is still out there, slipping through our fingers each time we try to catch him. It's so frustrating seeing you in pain and not be able to find the person responsible for causing you that pain. Though, as soon as we do find him, because we will, I'm going to give him what he deserves."

The corner of Emily's lips turned upward at Garcia's declaration of revenge, but regardless of the blonde's eagerness to do Emily right, she still felt the need to argue her case. "I can handle a few bruises and cuts. Sure, it's not the most comfortable thing, but I wasn't _hurt."_

''Sweetie, Morgan found you crying in your hotel room with a bottle of vodka acting as your best friend."

Emily was about to start arguing again, but Garcia cut her off.

"And that's okay. It's okay to feel hurt when someone you care for turns on you. If that ever happened to me, I would be upset too. I would send an emergency call for all of you to get to my place and then I would force you to hug me and listen to me bawling my eyes out until I would question if dying from dehydration due to massive crying was possible. And I would probably not seek comfort in a bottle of alcohol, indulging in some ice cream is more my thing," Garcia continued with a smile.

The anger left Emily as she listened to Garcia's caring words, but she still felt somewhat annoyed that she had looked into Josh's life. She decided to let that be though, feeling that she had already made it clear that it had been a major invasion of privacy. Instead, she made it her task to ease the tension that had settled between the two.

"Indulging in ice cream doesn't sound too bad. Though, Jack Daniel is a very reliable friend you know," she pointed out with a wink.

The tension left the room instantly as they shared a laugh. As they did, Emily grabbed the chair placed against the wall and turned it so that it was facing her friend. She then sat down and took one of Garcia's hands in her own.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I get that you're trying to look out for me, even though I don't need it," Emily apologised. "But still, thank you."

"You'll always need looking after. And I always knows what's best for you, Kitty, I'm the all knowing Oracle of Quantico, remember?" Garcia said with a huge grin.

"How could I forget?" Emily laughed.

Garcia joined in and Emily felt good. She missed Garcia and JJ and their Girls' Night Out. She found herself hoping that work would be slow for a while so that they could get together soon and catch up.

When their laughter died down, Garcia turned serious again. "Emily it's okay to feel sad and hurt sometimes, you know. It's what makes us human. Showing emotions doesn't make you weak, it makes you strong. Letting others see you at your weakest requires more strength than keeping a straight face. We're there for you, no matter what."

* * *

It was friday night and Emily, dressed in heels and a black, form fitting dress cut high enough to cover her clover leaf brand, was on her way to a restaurant, the place located close enough for her to be able to walk there from home. Despite the closeness to her home, she had never dined there.

Josh had called the day before, asking her if she would let him take her out the following evening. Once she had agreed, he had told her to wear something suiting for a non too fancy restaurant. Later that night, she had ransacked her wardrobe and found the dress she considered fitting.

She pulled the door open and stepped inside, the cold blow from the air conditioner and the smell of food greeting her. She scanned the place, looking for her dinner date, and found him in the middle of the room, sitting at a table decorated with two burning candles. She smiled at the place he had picked. It was just the way she liked it, not too elegant and romantic in a way that was fitting their current relationship.

She spoke briefly with the woman behind the host stand before making her way towards the table. The waiter was pouring wine into the two glasses placed on the table and her dinner date was too busy chatting away with him to notice her approaching.

The waiter then left the table with a polite wish for him to enjoy the evening. After having wished the man the same, Josh looked up just as she came to a stop next to the table. Upon seeing her, he smiled widely.

"Wow," he said, looking her up and down. "You look stunning." He got up from his seat to greet her.

Emily smiled at his compliment. "Thank you," she replied as she greeted him with a hug that he returned.

When they released each other she had the opportunity to look at what he was wearing. Just like her, he had chosen something a little more elegant than everyday clothes, but hadn't gone as far as putting on a suit. Instead he had picked out a pair of dark blue jeans and a black, perfectly ironed shirt. "You don't look too bad either," she commented with a small smirk.

He mirrored her expression while reaching for the chair he hadn't occupied earlier, pulling it out for her. Emily smiled her thanks and sat down, shrugging off her coat and placing it over the back of the chair.

As she had taken her seat, Josh moved to the other end of the table and made himself comfortable. The menus had already been placed on the table and as they both had settled in their seats, they each reached for one.

Emily made up her mind first, putting the menu down on the table as she waited for her date do the same. She didn't have to wait long though. When he had made up his mind and assured that Emily had decided too, he called for the waiter and placed their orders. The man hosting their table for the evening then disappeared, leaving the two to engage in some small talk while waiting for their meals to arrive.

"So, how was your day?" Josh began.

"Not too bad, I'm still on desk duty though," Emily replied with a grimace and reached for her glass of wine.

Josh smiled sympathetically at her dislike of not being allowed in the field, having heard her complain about it more than once before. "And that doesn't suit you very well," he said knowingly while taking a sip from his own glass.

Emily flashed him a smile and shook her head, "Not at all."

The conversation carried on, the topics light and comfortable, until their orders arrived.

"How about a toast to our first, official date?" Josh suggested before either of them had started eating, raising his glass of wine while talking.

Emily reached for her glass and moved hers toward his. "To our first, official date," she said as their glasses clinked.

* * *

The night progressed much quicker than either of them had anticipated and soon they were nearing Emily's place, Josh having insisted of walking her home to make sure she made it back safely. The night was dark and the light from the street lamps created shadows on the ground as they walked.

"I had a really good time tonight," Emily said as they stepped onto her porch. She then turned to face Josh, smiling, when they came to a stop just outside her door.

"Me too." Josh returned her smile. "How about we do this some other time. Soon?" he asked, leaning in closer.

Emily's smile grew wider as he neared her, her eyes looking into his blue ones. He then slowly reached to cup her face and as they connected, Emily leaned in to his touch. He then gently brushed his thumb over her cheek.

The caress was broken when Emily reached for his hand, lacing her fingers with his and letting their joined hands fall down to sway between them. She kept their fingers intertwined as she gently tugged him towards her, closing the distance between them. She then closed her eyes and gently pressed her lips to his. A small smiled formed on her face as she felt him kiss her back, just as softly.

The kiss was careful and loving and, unlike their latest kiss, it stayed like that until they both pulled away simultaneously. Looking up at the man smiling down at her, Emily knew she was falling for him. But despite coming to this beautiful realisation, her treacherous mind wouldn't let her be just happy for a moment, no, it had to remind her that the complicated situation still remained. She wanted nothing more than to let herself be happy, to spend as much time as possible with Josh and his son, to see where time will take their relationship. But on the other hand, she was afraid it would end as it always did, with the ones she cared about getting hurt because of her. Right now though, with Josh looking down at her with affection in his eyes, everything felt so right that she was beginning to wonder if it might be possible to overcome it. Maybe developing a relationship despite living in fear that Dylan would hurt them could be exactly what she needs to do, to not let him have control over her life. He already knew of them, and maybe they would be stronger together than apart. No matter what the future held, Emily decided to enjoy and make the most of the moment she had with Josh right now.

"I'll take that as a yes," the man in question said as he ran his hand that wasn't holding hers through her hair, the sensation creation goosebumps on Emily's skin. "Goodnight, Emily."

She put her free hand on his chest and barely brushed her lips against his as she gave him a final kiss. "Night, Josh."

She then took a step back from him and turned to unlock her door. Before going inside, she glanced at him over her shoulder, watching as he walk back to his car, and for a few short moments, she was just simply happy.

* * *

 _A/N: Once again, not a lot of action. Although, you've probably all heard of the calm before the storm..._


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: Here we go again!_

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

After weeks had gone by and there had been no sign of Dylan, Hotch reluctantly bowed to Emily's request that they pull off her security detail. It had been her argument that it was manpower spent unnecessarily that caused him to make the decision. The team still considered Dylan a threat to her safety, as did the team handling the case, but it would be illogical to spend their resources protecting her, a trained agent, when others, lacking training, was in need of the same kind of protection.

That was not the only thing that changed for Emily, after passing both the physical and the psychological evaluation, she had been cleared for active duty. Her first case back on the streets had been trying, the long hours and lack of sleep affecting her more than usual. During her time stuck on desk duty, she had become accustomed to working regular hours and a minimum of six hours of sleep each night, counting the time she lay awake in bed after the nightmares woke her. Although, it hadn't stopped her from doing her job and in the end, she had been the one to tackle the UnSub and fasten the cuffs around his wrists.

A consequence of her work schedule getting back to what Emily and the rest of the team considered normal was that she could no longer spend as much time with Josh and his boy as she had before. Despite this, her relationship with Josh had only grown stronger. Since their first date at the restaurant, they had been out on three more. They had also spent a lot of time together between the dates, cuddling up on the sofa while watching a movie, Josh teaching Emily how to cook what he called 'appropriate meals' that actually contained some nutrition compared to what she usually had for dinner. Most of the time, Danny was with them, snuggling with them while the movie was playing or helping out in the kitchen, but once he had gone to bed, the grown-ups had given in to their attraction and allowed hands to wander and lips to lock.

One Thursday night, after Josh had cooked her the best Indian chicken curry she had ever had, Emily had suggested they do as she'd promised back in Utah and show the Bentleys the city. Both father and son had happily agreed and they had then decided on Saturday, as long as she didn't get called out on a case. After helping with the dishes, Emily said goodbye and returned home where she began planning their upcoming trip.

* * *

After a long day spent in various locations, among them the zoo, her favourite bookstore and an ice cream parlour named Pop's Old Fashioned Ice Cream, the three stepped inside Emily's home. It was the first time either of the Bentleys visited so she decided to begin with a tour, just like Josh had done the first time she visited.

They started off in the foyer, moved on to the kitchen and then ended up in the living room. As they reached said room, something sparkly high up on a shelf caught the little boy's attention. He moved closer to the bookcase, placed his hands on a lower shelf and stood on his tip-toes to get a better look. Once he saw what it was, a huge smile spread on his face.

"It's the card I made for you!" he exclaimed, excitedly pointing at the card Emily kept on the shelf next to a pile of worn books and an old photo of the team.

"It is," Emily confirmed. "I like it so much that I placed it on my special shelf." She walked closer to the where Danny stood and once he was within reach, she scooped him up and placed him on her hip, holding him so that he would be able to see the items placed on the shelf more properly. "You see, this is the place where I keep my favourite things," she told him.

"My card is you favourite." He beamed as he turned to look at her, his soft curls tickling her chin.

"That it is," she confirmed and returned his smile.

After that, the rest of the tour went quick and when they had covered all the rooms, Danny tugged at the leg of his father's jeans. Josh crouched down so that Danny was able to whisper in his ear. "Sure thing, Buddy," he said as he stood up. "He needs to use the bathroom," he explained as he began leading his son towards the door he remembered Emily having said lead to the room.

"I'll be in the kitchen, making something for us to eat," Emily answered and began moving towards the dining area.

The duo returned just as Emily placed a plate of sliced fruit on the table next to the three glasses, a plastic cup for Danny, filled with ice water already standing there. "Since it's been warm all day and I didn't have much else to choose from, I prepared some fruit."

"I like apples," Danny said as spotted the apple slices while he was climbing onto on of the chairs.

"Fruit's perfect," Josh said and took a seat next to his son.

Emily sat down opposite him and reached for a fruit slice. Silence filled the room as they all munched on their fruit slices and enjoyed the cold water making its way down their throats as they drank.

A few minutes into their meal, Sergio decided he was entitled to some attention. Jumping up on the table, a place he was aware he was not allowed from Emily constantly shoving him down whenever he made the move, led to the desired effect.

"Sergio, get off the table!" Emily ordered and ushered him down.

"A cat!" Danny squealed in delight as the furry ball jumped down and landed with a soft thud. The black cat had been sleeping in the laundry room when they got there, therefore the boy had not seen him before. "Can I pet him?"

"Sure, just finish what you're eating first," Emily replied, sounding very much like a mother without intending to. She looked up to find Josh looking at her with a tender expression. He didn't appear to be bothered by her unintentionally mothering his child.

The blond boy quickly shoved what was left of his orange into his mouth and chewed with all his might, making juice slip out of his mouth and drip down his chin. When he was done, his father helped him wipe his face and hands, wetting the paper in order to get rid of the stickiness. All cleaned up, Danny climbed off the chair and went to the black cat who was currently sitting on the floor next to the table.

"What's his name?" Danny asked as he stroked the black cat, Sergio not moving from his spot despite being unfamiliar with children.

"Sergio," Emily replied.

"Sejo?" Danny asked, scrunching up his face.

Emily smiled. "Not quite. It's Sergio," she said, slowly pronouncing it.

"Sero... Ser.. That's hard to say," Danny sighed. "Is it okay if call him Sir until I know how to say it?"

"Sure, Sweetie."

While his son was occupied with the cat, Josh reached across the table and laced Emily's fingers with his. "He's never gonna stop calling him that, you know. Not even after he's learned how to pronounce it."

Emily gave his hand a little squeeze. "I know." Her eyes then sought out the boy and watched him as he was trying to capture the black cat in a hug. She then turned her gaze back to Josh with a fond smile, "I think he deserves to be called 'Sir' once in a while. I usually just call him something much less noble."

Josh laughed and shook his head in amusement.

"I don't think he likes hugs," Danny pouted as Sergio slipped out of his grasp.

"I'm sure he'd love to get a hug from you some other time. Right now, I think he's still a bit grumpy about not being allowed on the table," Emily replied. "But I do know someone who would like to get a Danny-cuddle," she continued and opened her arms for him.

Danny happily abandoned the cat and moved straight towards Emily. When he was close enough, she picked him up and placed him sideways on her lap. Feeling his arms wrap around her, she tightened the hold she had around him, giving him a small squeeze back. Her hand that was not securing him to her went to smooth down the wild locks on his head that was standing in every direction, but soon gave up and admitted defeat as they refused to stay down.

"Em'ly?"

"Yes, Honey."

"I like your hugs too," the boy said and snuggled closer to her.

A warm feeling spread through her, a feeling she had only once experienced before due to another blonde little boy, and she held him closer. Even though she still had some problems accepting her feelings for the boy's father, she had no problem with the love she felt towards the bundle of joy she was now holding in her arms.

She placed a kiss on the top of his head and then rested her cheek against it, breathing in his scent. "Good, because I plan on keep stealing hugs from you whenever possible."

Experiencing the feeling of being watched, she shifted her gaze and found Josh looking at them with an affectionate smile.

* * *

The lights changed from red to green and as the car started to move, Emily's phone rang. Morgan glanced over at his partner as the sound erupted but quickly returned his gaze to the road as he was the one driving.

"Prentiss," Emily answered without looking at the caller ID.

" _Emily! I need your help!"_

"Josh? What's going on?" She once again felt the eyes of her partner on her.

" _I don't know how to do this. It just keeps falling apart!"_

"Josh, I don't understand what's going on." Her imagination conjured one horrible scenario after another, a knot forming in her stomach.

" _Just get over here!"_

"I can't. I'm on my way to a crime scene. Josh, you need to tell me what's going on," Emily said in exasperation. As she turned to look at Morgan, they made eye contact. He then mouthed an 'Everything okay?' She didn't get the chance to answer him before Josh was speaking again. Her focus immediately went to what he was saying.

" _I bought this new bookshelf for Danny from IKEA and I can't put it together!"_

Emily felt herself relax into her seat, the worry leaving her body, She then let out a huff in a mixture of relief and amusement. From the way he had sounded and his urgency to make her come to him, she had expected something much worse going on than his inability to put together a bookshelf.

"Just follow the instructions," she told him.

" _I am!"_ Josh exclaimed in a high pitched voice that reminded Emily very much of Reid's when he got excited.

"Well, if the little guy in the picture is picking up a screw, pick up a screw. If he screws two of the pieces together, then do that. Just do exactly like he does and everything will be fine."

" _Why do they have to make comic books out of it instead of just simply writing down the instructions. It's much less complicated,"_ Josh sighed, partially in frustration and partially in defeat.

"I think you're the only one with that opinion," Emily chuckled.

" _Yeah, right,"_ he said dryly. _"Okay, I'll try doing it your way, but if it doesn't work, you'll have to get over here and help me. Danny has been nagging me about a bookshelf ever since we went to the bookstore last Saturday and you bought him all those books. He says he needs a 'p'oper place' to put them."_

"You make it sound like buying him books is a bad thing. You should be happy he likes to read," Emily commented.

" _I am. Just not when I have to interpret a comic book to put together a bookcase."_

His words had her chuckling. "Let me know how it turns out," she said and ended the call, putting her phone back in her pocket.

"What was that all about?" Morgan questioned as soon as she had finished the phone call.

"Josh's inability to read the instructions from IKEA," Emily grinned.

"Really?" Morgan asked in disbelief. "It's the simplest instructions I've ever come across."

"Yeah, I know. Me too. He always makes it much more complicated than it has to be."

"You don't say," Morgan chuckled, bringing the car to a stop next to their crime scene.

* * *

Shortly after the partners had arrived at the crime scene, which was the fourth of the case they were working on, they had received a call from Hotch telling them to meet the rest of the team at another address once they had finished at their location. Garcia had managed to uncover vital information regarding the case and thanks to her and her amazing computer skills, they now had a location for their UnSub.

Emily and Morgan finished up at the scene as quickly as possible and then hurried to the car. Once they had reached their new destination, everything leading up to the arrest had went smoothly. The suspect had surrendered after coming to the realisation that there was no way she survive if she didn't. Morgan had been the one to cuff her and after that, the CSU had been called in to process the scene.

The case had been a local one and after a few hours, they were back at the office, readying themselves to go home. Just as Emily was stepping onto the elevator, she received a second call from Josh. Apparently the assembly of the newly purchased furniture had not been successful and now he was begging her for help with the uncooperative bookcase. The change of plans had her driving to the suburban neighbourhood of Alexandria instead of home to her place in Georgetown.

She barely had time to ring the bell before the door was opened. She was greeted by a very frustrated Josh. "Thank God!"

He gestured for her to move inside and she did. Always a gentleman, he helped her off with her coat.

"I'm going crazy. It won't go together."

Emily did her best to cover up the smile forming on her lips, but apparently it wasn't good enough. "Oh, laugh all you want. Next time it'll be you who's begging me for help."

"I'm sorry," she apologised and put a comforting hand on his upper arm, though the smile still remained. "Let's get this thing taken care of." With those words, she began moving towards Danny's room, only making a quick detour to the kitchen to say hello to the boy who was sitting at the table, colouring. Josh followed behind her and as they entered the boy's room, a mess of screws, shelves and various tools greeted them.

"You have the instructions?" Emily asked as she sat down in the middle of the half moon pattern that had been created by the different building parts scattered around the room.

"They're useless," Josh said as he handed her the, by now, very wrinkly piece of paper.

"We'll see about that." Emily reached for the first piece of wood and began the assembly of the bookcase.

* * *

An hour later, the case had been fully put together. They had also managed to place all of Danny's books in it, among with other things such as a few toys and framed photos of the boy. Danny had happily assisted them in decorating the bookcase. When they had finished in Danny's room, the trio had moved to the kitchen where they cooked dinner. Moving around in the kitchen, chopping, stirring and pan-frying they created a meal much appreciated by both the younger and the older Bentley, namely spaghetti with meat sauce and some vegetables.

The dinner conversation had mostly consisted of Danny babbling about his day and how he had told all his friends about the trip the trio had made to the zoo earlier that week. Josh and Emily exchanged a few words whenever Danny fell silent, either because he was taking a sip from his glass of milk or because he was too focused on twirling spaghetti onto his fork, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he did.

When they had finished dinner, Emily offered to take care of the dishes while Josh helped Danny take a bath.

She had just placed the last plate in the dishwasher when she heard Josh calling out for her. She wiped her hands on the grey kitchen towel before walking to the bathroom, stopping just outside the slightly opened door.

"Yes?" she spoke through the gap.

"Danny wants to show you something," came the reply from the other side.

Emily pushed the door open and stepped inside, her eyes instantly drifting to the bathtub.

In the bathtub sat Danny, a smile forming on his lips as he saw her enter. The boy was quite a sight, surrounded by bubbles and having used shampoo to get his hair to stand upright in a line on his head. "Em'ly, look at me! I'm a rooster!" he exclaimed and mimicked the animal.

"I can see that," Emily said with a chuckle.

"I made it all by myself. Daddy didn't help me at all."

"That's impressive." She glanced at Josh and found him sporting the same wide grin as her, finding the boy's antics just as amusing and adorable as she did.

Since Josh was seated on the floor next to the tub, Emily sat down on the closed toilet lid facing Danny. "You know what I used to do when I was a kid?" she asked. The boy shook his head no. "Whenever I took a bath, I used to make two little mouse ears, like the ones Mickey Mouse has."

"Like..." Danny paused as he separated his hair and made two round 'ears' on his head. "... this?"

"Exactly like that," Emily smiled.

"It feels funny," he said while moving his head from side to side, making his 'ears' bounce around.

The two adults laughed at the boy. Danny was grinning from ear to ear as he found this new part of bath time funny.

Josh let Danny play for a while until he thought it was time to finish up before the water got too cold. While Josh helped Danny wash away the last of the bubbles, she asked Josh where she could get a towel. She returned to her seat with the towel just as Danny was done. Emily gave the fluffy, white piece of fabric to Josh who then immediately wrapped his son in it, lifting him out of the tub. The towel was way too big for him and made him look like a tiny baby wrapped in a huge blanket.

Coming to stand in front of her, he looked up through wet eyelashes. "Can you help me get dressed?"

"Sure," she replied and stood up. Danny lead the way to his room, wearing the towel as a cape, which made it drag across the floor.

"Where do you keep your pajamas?" Emily asked as she put him on his bed, wrapping the towel around him to keep him from getting cold. He pointed at the dresser placed across the room. She walked to the other side of the room and pulled out the top drawer, getting the right one on the first try. "What do you want to wear?"

"I want to wear Batman."

Emily began searching for the requested piece of clothing. It didn't take long for her to find the black T-shirt with a front-print of the superhero and the dark blue bottoms with tiny bats all over them.

She returned to Danny, who hadn't left his seat on the bed, carrying the pajamas and a pair of clean underwear. They boy abandoned his towel that had once again turned into a cape while she had her back turned to him, and when Emily had made sure he was dry, she helped him on with his clothes.

A few minutes later, they walked out of his room and met Josh back in the bathroom where he stood ready with his son's toothbrush.

"Daddy says I'm old enough to hold the brush now," Danny told her proudly as he spotted the brush.

"Really?"

"Uh huh," he said and nodded.

Having figured out that things went more smoothly if his son was able to see what he was doing, Josh placed the children's step stool in front of the sink. Per usual, Danny stepped onto the stool, gripping the edge of the sink to keep himself steady. Facing the mirror, he reached for the toothbrush his father held out for him.

He put the brush in his mouth, smearing some toothpaste onto his lower lip in the process. Josh then placed his hand over the boy's and guided him through the process.

It was then time for a bedtime story. Emily kissed Danny goodnight and decided to wait in the living room for Josh to finish reading. She took off her slightly heeled boots, folded her legs beneath her and made herself comfortable on the couch. As she began to relax further into the soft cushions, she felt her eyes drifting shut, the case and the rest of the afternoon having drained her of her energy.

She woke up feeling a light pressure on her upper arm and a soft voice coaxing her out of her slumber. "Wake up, Sleepyhead."

Emily groaned and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Once she opened her eyes, she found herself looking into Josh's ocean blue. "Long day at work?" he asked her though her falling asleep on the couch was answer enough.

"Yeah," Emily replied groggily and began pulling herself up into a sitting position. "Sorry."

"No need to apologise."

Once Emily had made it into a seated position, Josh sat down next to her and held out his arm for her in an invitation to lean against him. She scooted closer and placed her head on his chest. When she had settled in, Josh began playing lazily with her hair, causing a smile to grace Emily's lips.

Neither said anything, but simply enjoyed each other's company and the piece of quiet. The longer they stayed that way, the more tired she became. The way Josh was running his hand through her hair, lightly massaging her scalp, did not make it easier for her to stay awake. When Emily felt herself drifting off to a state between awareness and unconsciousness, she realised it was time to go or she would definitely fall asleep behind the wheel while making her way home.

"I should get going before I fall asleep again," she mumbled as she reluctantly began untangling herself from Josh.

He stilled her movements by gently tightening his hold on her. "You could sleep here if you'd like," he murmured into her hair, placing a kiss there once he had finished talking.

Despite her effort, Emily could not stop herself from tensing slightly. She knew Josh was a great guy. During their time together, he had never pushed her, never went beyond the gentle touches and caring kisses, but regardless of that, she was afraid there would be expectations if she agreed. And she was not sure if she was ready to fulfill those expectations just yet, despite him being a great guy. The Dylan-incident remained fresh in her mind and the memory of his hands all over her prevented her from moving on to the next step with Josh. He must have sensed her hesitation though, and guessed what it was about, even though he didn't know the full story of what had transpired between her and her ex, because before she had the chance to decline, he was addressing her worries.

"I expect nothing else but the chance to hold you through the night, Emily. I promise."

She then felt him press a kiss to her temple and it was that small gesture of affection combined with the way he had addressed her fears without even knowing of them that led her to make up her mind. She would stay the night.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: I apologise for not having updated this in like forever. All I can say is that I've had a lot on my plate and I'm sorry._

* * *

 **Stalker**

 **A Criminal Minds Fan Fiction**

 **by Sweda**

* * *

"I can't believe you're willingly putting yourself in the same room with six profilers," Emily said as she removed the key from the ignition.

"You do it everyday," Josh argued.

"That's different. First of all, it's my job. And secondly, we have this unwritten rule about not profiling each other."

"And how often do you guys break that rule?" Josh said and cocked an eyebrow.

Emily narrowed her eyes. "I get your point."

"Great! Shall we get going then?"

"Yeah," she replied and reached for the door handle.

The couple got out of the car. They were both wearing jeans and a button-down shirt, though different colours. Emily wore black skinny jeans and a dark blue shirt while Josh wore grey jeans and a military green shirt, having rolled up his sleeves. It was still rather early in the evening, a little after seven pm, so the August temperature hadn't dropped down to the 70's yet, making it a little too hot to wear tight fitted jeans, but since they would probably leave the bar late, their clothing would be perfect then. Add to that, once they stepped inside the bar, the air conditioning would hit them and the clothing would no longer be too hot.

Once Josh had walked around the vehicle, he took Emily's hand in his. At first, Emily had been wary of them showing affection in public, partially due to the fact that Dylan might be watching, but also because it was so unusual to her. She had never been the one to wear her heart on her sleeve. Though lately, she had become more comfortable with it. Josh never let anything stop him from showing her how much he cared, not even the threat of Dylan.

Hand in hand, they crossed the street and reach the bar where they had decided to meet with the team. This was a huge step for Emily, never in the seven years she had known the team had she ever taken a boyfriend of hers to meet with them, not that there had been many over the years. She still wasn't sure about her decision, and would probably not be until the evening had ended.

They came to a stop by the door. Josh didn't let go of her hand as he reached out for the handle and held it open for her. As soon as they stepped inside, a loud 'Emily!' caught their attention. She wasn't surprised to find Garcia grinning and waving at them from across the room, cramped in a booth along with the rest of the team. Apparently, they were the last to arrive.

"Hello there, Handsome," Garcia greeted Josh with a smirk once they were within earshot.

"Hello," Josh replied with an amused grin as he and Emily reached the table.

"I'm Penelope," she said and held out her hand.

"Josh," he introduced himself as he shook the offered hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Since Garcia had already started it, Emily continued the presentation of the team while they were still standing. She began with introducing the Unit Chief, who grasped Josh's hand in a firm handshake. She then moved on to Rossi, who was sitting next to Hotch. The two men greeted each other in a similar manner.

"And there's Jennifer Jareau, but everybody calls her JJ," Emily said as and nodded towards the former Media Liaison.

"Hi," the blonde said, giving Josh a small wave since she was seated too far away to shake his hand.

"Hi. We've actually already met," he said and nodded his head in greeting.

"Oh, that's right," Emily recalled, having momentarily forgotten about their meeting at the police station in Utah. "Anyway, and this is Spencer Reid."

The young profiler did as he usually did when meeting new people, waved and put on a sheepish smile.

Emily moved on. "Derek Morgan, you've already met."

"Yes, we have," Morgan said and shook Josh's hand since he was able to reach. "How's the kid?"

"He's better, thanks for asking. He's still going through some stuff, but it's heading in the right direction."

"Glad to hear," Morgan said genuinely.

"Speaking of which, where did you ditch junior to be able to join us on this special occasion?" Garcia chimed in.

"A coworker's daughter offered to watch him throughout the night. She's watched him a few times before so he's used to her," Josh explained.

"Oh, he's having a slumber party! Sounds like so much fun!" The blonde clapped her hands in excitement.

"I hope so," he said. Emily had told him about the Technical Analyst, but it was something entirely different to see her in person. She was even more interesting and perky than he had imagined.

Garcia then realised that the pair was still standing. "You two little love birds can sit right here," she said and scooted closer to Morgan, who then shifted closer to Reid in order to make room for the two.

"Sure," Josh replied as Emily shook her head at her friend. "Do you want me to get you a drink first?" Josh asked as he noticed that the others each had a drink placed in front of them.

Emily nodded her yes. "You're having a beer?"

Josh confirmed it with a nod.

"Then get me the same," Emily decided as she sat down close enough to Garcia that Josh would be able to fit next to her once he returned.

Emily watched him as he made his way towards the bar, keeping her eyes on him as he leaned against it while ordering.

"He's tall," Garcia mused.

Apparently, she hadn't been the only one watching.

Emily turned her gaze to her friend. "Wipe that drool off you face."

"He's nice to look at."

Emily raised one of her eyebrows.

"What?" Garcia aghast. "I haven't done anything."

"You've got that look in your eyes."

"What look?" Garcia said innocently.

"Don't you have Kevin?" Rossi intervened.

A loving smile spread on Garcia's face at the mentioning of her boyfriend. "And he's all I need. But that doesn't stop me from admiring the view," she added with a smirk.

The table laughed.

"What's so funny?" Josh returned to the table, carrying a bottle of beer in each hand, and sat down next to Emily.

"Penelope was just stating that she's entitled to admire the view of your backside despite being in a committed relationship," Rossi supplied.

"Oh."

Emily shook her head in embarrassment.

"Uhm, thanks, I guess," Josh said, at loss of what else to say.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Emily muttered.

"Ignore them, Princess," Morgan said. "They're just messing with you." He then turned his attention to the Technical Analyst, "Didn't we agree on you behaving yourself today?"

"Oh, this is behaving."

Josh laughed and took a swig from his beer.

Garcia leaned forward in her seat, "So, Josh, tell us a little something about yourself?"

He could hear Emily sigh next to him and watched as she took a large gulp of her beer. He then realised that something similar to an interrogation would take place during the next few minutes. He was seated with a bunch of cops after all.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, once again raising the bottle to his mouth and taking a sip.

The blonde tapped her chin thoughtfully, using her index finger. "Well for starters, what do you do for a living?"

"I just got promoted to Bank Manager. That's the reason we moved here."

"Doesn't sound like a lot of action," Garcia commented.

"It's not. Usually, my days consists of planning, phone calls and meetings."

"Do you like it?" JJ asked in curiosity, finding similarities to when she was working as a Media Liaison.

Josh began absentmindedly picking at the label on his beer bottle while keeping his eyes on JJ. "Yeah, I like the responsibility and the stability it provides for my home life."

"How about family?" Garcia questioned. "Got any more mini-yous out there?"

Josh chuckled at her choice of words. "No. No more mini-mes out there, but I do have an older brother and both my parents are still alive."

Neither asked about Danny's mother since they all knew she was dead. They had established that a few months ago during the search for the then missing boy.

"What do you do when you're not working?" Rossi wanted to know.

"I usually spend as much time as I can with my son. I used to coach a swimming team back in Utah, but haven't found one that needs a new coach here yet. And I like to cook. I've actually been trying to teach this one," he said and nudged Emily with his elbow, "how to cook a proper meal that doesn't consist of noodles, toast or left over take outs."

"I'm not that bad," Emily defended herself.

"Neither are you good, Sweet Pea," Garcia said, placing her hand on top of Emily's. As Emily looked around the table, several heads nodded in agreement to the blonde's statement.

Emily huffed.

"So what have you've been teaching her?" Rossi's interest had perked at the mention of food. He folded his arms and placed them on the table, leaning forward.

"We've made mostly basic dishes. Spaghetti with meat sauce, burgers, some thai food that doesn't come for the place down the street, pizza..."

"Have you ever made real, Italian pizza?" the veteran profiler interrupted.

Josh thought about it for a second. "I can't say I have."

"Then I'll teach you. Can't have you making some half excuse of a pizza when you're, from what I suspect, perfectly capable of making the real deal."

Josh chuckled. "I'm looking forward to it."

Emily was intentionally being quiet, letting the team and Josh get to know each other without her intervention. As the 'interrogation' progressed, she listened to what was being said, learning a few new things about her boyfriend. For example, she now knew that he preferred chocolate flavoured ice cream to strawberry, the answer to a question that had, of course, been asked by Garcia.

She had just taken a sip of her beer when Garcia asked her next question.

"What are your intentions with Emily?"

Emily choked on her drink and began coughing. Next to her, Josh was just as taken aback by the question as she was but that didn't stop him from patting her on the back in an attempt to help her through the coughing fit.

"What my intentions are?" Josh repeated the question, just to make sure he had heard her correctly. Emily's coughing had stopped but Josh kept his hand on her back, gently stroking it.

The perky blonde nodded her yes.

Josh shifted in his seat, turning towards his girlfriend. "I really just want to make her happy."

Emily turned to him, wearing one of the most genuine smiles the team had seen her wear in a very long time. Josh smiled back at her and reached with the hand that wasn't stroking her back, for her hand placed on the table. He laced their fingers together and it didn't bother her the slightest, despite the team being there.

When she turned her eyes away from him, she found the team staring at them, all of them sporting huge smiles. Garcia beamed, JJ and Morgan grinned while Hotch and Rossi wore small, approving smiles. Reid was looking somewhat uncomfortable, his smile tense but genuine. Emily felt a blush creeping up, a result of her becoming the centre of attention.

"You can stop staring now." They were making her feel uncomfortable.

The table laughed, but didn't stop smiling or looking at her. Emily began squirming in her seat. Despite her discomfort, she didn't let go of Josh's hand.

"Seriously. If you don't stop staring, I'll smack those smiles off all your faces."

"Okay, okay, we'll stop," Rossi said and raised his hands in a gesture to symbolise defeat. He was still wearing that warm smile when he addressed her empty threat. "There's no need to get violent." And then he winked and the table laughed.

Thankfully, the team did as promised and Emily felt herself relax. Josh chose that moment to wrap the arm he had on her back around her waist and pulled her closer. Emily leaned back, which resulted in Josh's arm slightly digging into her lower back. She shifted in her seat, finding a comfortable position and leaned her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Emily still had Josh's arm wrapped around her middle, his thumb moving back and forth over her hip in a soothing pattern, as she laughed along with the others at the story Rossi was telling them. It was about how he, unsuccessfully, had tried to seduce his second wife into going on a trip with him to the Alps. Emily then felt more than heard her phone ringing.

She reached into the left front pocket of her jeans and wriggled her phone out.

"Hello," she answered, still smiling. The rest of the people seated around the table were now focused on JJ, who was telling them about the time Henry first tasted lemon.

" _Hi, Emily,"_ a voice she recognised all too well from her nightmares replied.

The smile faded from her face and her body tensed. Josh felt the change in her demeanour and stopped listening to the story. Instead, he turned his attention to Emily. When he saw her pale face and tensed shoulders he knew something wasn't right.

" _Having fun tonight, are we?"_

"What do you want?" Emily didn't want to have to listen to his small talk. She tried to relax as she realised her tone of voice had alerted the rest of the table.

" _You, really, but right now I'm just checking in to see how it is with that little blonde boy that keeps getting your attention."_

Emily felt her panic rising. She covered the microphone of her phone and turned her head to Josh, "Call Molly."

"What? Why? What's going on?"

"Just do it!" Emily told him and turned her focus back to the call.

Josh had no other choice but to oblige and quickly dialled the babysitter's number.

Now, the couple had the full attention of everyone seated around the table.

" _Getting a little worried, are we?"_

"I swear to God, if you've as much as touched a hair on his head, I will kill you."

Emily uttering death threats had the others sharing worried glances. Something was seriously wrong and no matter what happened next, their enjoyable evening was definitely ruined. They could all guess who the caller that was making her so upset was.

"She's not picking up," Josh whispered loudly, wearing a worried frown.

" _I'll see you soon,"_ he said and hung up.

Emily looked at Josh with panic in her eyes. "We have to go," she said hurriedly and gave him a slight push, indicating that he should get up so that she could rise from her seat.

"Who was that?"

"Was that Dylan?"

"What did he say?"

Questions kept coming her way, asked by different members of the team, but she ignored them and urged Josh to move faster.

"Em, what's going on?" he asked as he rose from his seat, taking a light grip around her wrist to get her attention.

Instead of answering, Emily bolted towards the door, dragging him with her.

"Dylan called," she answered as she pushed the door open, stepping into the chilly night without even noticing the cold. They had forgotten their jackets back at the table.

Josh's worried eyes tried to capture hers but she was too busy keeping up the steady pace she had set towards the car while digging into her purse, searching for the car keys.

Reaching the car, she quickly unlocked it, having found the keys moments earlier, and jumped into the driver's seat. Just as quickly, Josh took the passenger seat and buckled up, closing the door behind him.

Before Emily had the time to start the car, Josh reached out and stopped her by taking her slightly trembling hand into his. "Emily, could you _please_ tell me what's going on?"

She looked into his pleading eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself. "He asked about Danny."

"Asked about what exactly?" She watched as the panic began to rise within Josh.

"How he was doing." She had untangled her hand from Josh's and was now turning the key, making the car come to life. The next second, she stomped on the gas pedal and they were off.

"You think something's happened to him?" he asked after having swallowed the lump in his throat her words had created.

"Molly didn't pick up, did she?"

"That doesn't mean something's happened." Josh tried to stay positive, despite his growing anxiety.

Emily didn't comment on his statement. She had her eyes on the road as she said, "Just... keep dialling her."

* * *

The car came to an abrupt stop outside the apartment building of Danny's sitter and both adults practically flew out of the car and up the stairs.

When they reached the door, Emily started banging on it loudly, calling out for Molly to open up.

"Why isn't she answering?" Emily said in frustration. She wasn't as good as Morgan when it came to kicking down doors, but if that was the only way to get inside, she wouldn't hesitate. They were going to reach that boy no matter the obstacles.

By now, Josh was also slamming his fists on the door, trying to get the nanny's attention.

Emily had just started to prepare to kick in the door when it suddenly opened, revealing a frightened and soaked Molly, clutching a towel to her chest.

"What's going on?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Where is Danny?" Emily questioned, ignoring the young girl's question.

"Sleeping."

"Where?" Josh asked.

Emily stepped into the apartment and looked around the room, searching for Danny.

"He fell asleep watching a movie in my bedroom," Molly explained, pointing at the door leading to the mentioned room.

Josh and Emily both rushed to the door and pushed it open.

Looking up at them from the bed, blanket pulled up to his chin, lay a very sleepy Danny. "Daddy? Em'ly?"

Emily let out a sigh and sagged back against the door frame in relief. _He was okay._

While Emily remain at the door, Josh stepped into the room and kneeled next to the bed. "Hey, Buddy," he whispered and caress his cheek.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Molly questioned as she came to stand next to Emily, goosebumps forming on her skin from the cold air.

Realising that they owed her a good explanation for barging in here in the middle of the night, Emily turned to the girl with an apologetic smile. "I got a phone call that made us believe that something had happened to Danny and when you didn't pick up, we panicked."

"Oh," the girl exclaimed with a slightly guilty expression. "I didn't mean for you to worry, I didn't hear my phone from inside the shower."

Emily had thought as much when the girl had opened the door, soaking wet and wearing nothing but a towel. "It's okay," she assured her. "I guess we kind of overreacted."

Molly looked at the father and son talking quietly by the bed. "If I were the one with a kid and a babysitter that didn't pick up, I'd probably react the same way."

Emily smiled at the girl and reached for the robe she had spotted earlier, hanging on a hook next to the door. "Here, why don't you go and put this on."

Molly gave her a grateful smile and accepted the robe. She then hurried towards the bathroom, leaving a trail of water on the floor.

Once the girl had disappeared, Emily walked further into the room and kneeled down beside Josh. As she did, he put a comforting hand at the small of her back.

"Hi, Danny-Boy," she said and reached out to run her hand through his messy curls. "I'm sorry if we scared you."

"It's okay," he replied groggily. "Daddy said you were worried."

"Yeah, but we're all good now."

"Are we going home?" Danny asked, looking from one adult to the other.

Josh and Emily shared a look, agreeing that there was no way they were going back to the bar after this.

"Yes," Josh replied, looking back at his son. He then turned his attention to the brunette. "I think you better give your team a call, they must be worried."

"You're right," Emily said and got up from her spot beside the bed. Standing, she realised she didn't have her phone. "I left my phone in the car."

"Here, take mine," Josh said and handed her his phone.

"Thank you." She took the phone and stepped out of the room while dialling Hotch's number. She hung up a few minutes later, having explained everything to him, just as Molly was stepping out from the bathroom.

"You okay?" Emily asked as the young girl.

"Yeah, got a little freaked out, that's all."

"I'm very sorry about that."

"Me too," Josh said as he stepped out of the bedroom, Danny's backpack flung over his shoulder and the boy resting on his hip.

"It's okay, I understand," Molly replied with a small smile.

"You need any help?" Emily asked as she saw him walking out of the bedroom.

"Nah, I think I got it. You've explained things to your team?"

Emily nodded.

"Good."

"You got your wallet?" she asked, realising that she didn't have hers on and that they had to pay the girl for watching Danny.

"Yeah, left back pocket." He twisted his body so that she would be able to reach easier.

Emily reached inside his pocket and picked up the wallet, pulling a few bills out. As she held out the money to the girl, she began protesting. "That's way more than we agreed on."

"After tonight, you deserve it," Emily said and pressed the money into her hand.

As Josh saw the girl was about to argue once more, he spoke up. "There's no point in arguing, she's as stubborn as can be."

Emily sent him a dirty look before stepping back from the girl, putting the wallet back in Josh's pocket.

"Then, thank you very much. Danny's been an angel. Don't hesitate to ask me if you ever need someone watching him another time."

"We won't," Josh replied with a smile.

They all moved towards the door and exchanged goodbyes before walking back to the car, Danny having already fallen asleep in his father's arms.

* * *

Emily was awakened by an acute pressure to her bladder. She carefully removed the arm Josh had draped over her midsection during sleep and pulled back the covers. The sudden loss of warmth created goosebumps on her skin. Mindful of not disturbing Josh, she got out of bed carefully.

They had discarded of their clothes last night in a haste and Emily was now facing the result. Various items of clothing were spread all over the room, having been removed as they had made their way towards the bed. Last night's events had pushed Emily to take the next step in their relationship, to sleep with Josh. She didn't regret it, she was just sad that once again, it had been because of Dylan, or more because of the impending threat that he posed, that she had based her decision. She had come to the realisation that the clock was ticking. Everyday that she got to spend with Josh and his son were a blessing, something that she shouldn't take for granted, not that she had. Last night, she had realised that she wanted to have experienced it with Josh at least once, before things went to hell, and last night had been wonderful.

Coming across the T-shirt she had removed from Josh the night before, she stopped, picked it up and pulled it over her head. In order to get to the bathroom, she would have to cross the hallway and even though it was still early enough that Danny should be asleep, she didn't want to risk running into him naked.

A loose floorboard creaked as she stepped out of the bedroom, but thankfully it wasn't loud enough to disturb Josh's sleep it seemed.

Her trip to the toilet didn't take long and after making a quick detour to check on Danny, she was back in bed. She had decided to keep the shirt on. Even though it was warm beneath the covers, the nights had started to get colder and a little extra heat wouldn't do any damage. Besides, she felt less vulnerable wearing something covering her skin.

Once in bed, Emily scooted closer to where Josh was resting. She then lifted his arm and fitted herself alongside him, draping his arm over her middle and thereby settling back into the comfortable position she had woken in. Snuggled close to Josh and exhausted from work and stressing over Dylan, Emily fell back asleep quickly, despite the worry and guilt trying to overtake her.

She didn't get many hours of sleep before a nightmare had her shooting up in bed, out of breath, covered in cold sweat and hand pressed to her chest. She was unable to go back to sleep for the rest of the night.


End file.
